日本語を学ぶ

Here is a place where you can ask questions, learn, and practice the Japanese language. And if you even know some, try to teach as well.

A good way to type in Japanese is using this thing called Microsoft IME, that's at least what my brother calls it. The process is Start Menu>>Control Panel>>Clock, Language, and Region>>Change keyboard or other input methods>>Keyboards and Languages>>Change Keyboards...>>Add...>>Scroll down to Japan, then click on it, and check the box Microsoft IME>>Ok>>Ok. Then you're ready to type in Japanese. It should be minimized to your task bar. Click on the tiny (most likely) EN, then click on the JP. There are 5 different parts. Hiragana, Katakana, Half-width hiragana, Half-width katakana, and the last one, which uses roman characters. When you type in kana, make sure to press the space bar after every word to make it into kanji. I will demonstrate.
Without space bar: にほんご
With space bar: 日本語
Y'all probably knew how to do this, but this is just in case.

Anyone interested in learning Japanese should begin with the Kana, two sets of syllabaries.

The first is the Hiragana, which is used for traditional japanese and for native Japanese citizens. The other set is the Katakana, often used for foreign names and words.

James Heisig's "Remembering the Kana" is where you should start. I wish I found these books sooner, I would have learned the Kana sooner...

This is an excellent place to practice.
http://www.realkana.com/

Jisho is good dictionary.
http://jisho.org/

Particles:
は- pronounced as わ, and used to define the subject of the sentence.
も- same function as は, but used to signify something else is as well. Like saying, "he is too."
で- used for signifying where something takes place. Put after the place.
に- basically same function as "to" and "from". I can't really explain it.
へ- pronounced as え, and used to designate a place you are going to.
と- same function as "and".
を- probably the most common particle. When you use a verb in Japanese, you must put the what the verb is affecting before that. を is put in between the affected thing and the verb. Can be pronounced as "wo" or お.

Just use Tae Kim's Guide To Japanese. He does a lot better job at explaining things. You can still ask questions about Japanese grammar, words, and pronunciation here.