[youseikun]

Try to get Rosetta stone, it's the best for learning any language. ^_^
And if you can't afford that get Japanese for Dummies they teach you everything in those books, because unlike other books which just teach you VERY proper Japanese(which isn't bad) it teaches you the different ways you can say things to different people depending on the level of authority they have(parents, teachers, friends, ect.) which is very useful. It also teaches you their culture and beliefs. For example, if someone were to compliment you in america you would say "Thank you." and move on with your day, but in Japan it is more polite to turn down the compliment no matter if it is true or not.
Say someone said "You are a good cook." You would reply "No, I am no near as good as you." or something to that effect. ^_^
It's a really good book, it's what I used and it got me pretty far. But a computer program like Rosetta stone is the best.
Also try to watch japanese movies with english subtitles and listen to the words carefully and try to translate them yourself.
Hope that helped you. ^__^