Everyone wants learning Japanese to be more fun. That’s why so many people use movies, music, comics, food and other fun ways to learn languages. Before I say anything else, I must stress that it’s very unlikely that you’ll reach any level of fluency without structured textbook or class study. Please treat your hobbies as motivation with the bonus of added learning rather than study time in order to avoid forgetting about an organized study plan.
That being said, trying to create your own immersion experience in your own country not only helps you remember what you learn while studying, you can also educate yourself about the news, it’s hard to talk about some of your interest. For 4 years 90% of the entertainment I absorbed was Japanese. It wasn’t that I was obsessed with Japan, it was just all so new to me. There was so much to explore. I watched movies I hated but they were still interesting because I could learn things about the culture from them.
Anime and Manga
The most common interest among foreigners learning Japanese seems to be anime and manga. Some of the story lines are very easy to get addicted to so it isn’t a bad way to learn a few extra words and get used to the sound of the language. It is very important to know the demographic and setting of story though. A lot of anime is geared towards middle school students and おたく (otaku). Despite what your anime club may want to believe, most Japanese adults don’t watch anime although many do still read manga to pass time on the train.
Entertainment
Movies and TV dramas may be a little more realistic but remember that they are dramatic. Japanese people rarely say 愛してる (I love you), they will more likely say 好きです (I like you). Subtitles always distract me from study so I make a point to find 10-20 words per episode that I think will be useful, stop, reply and make a list to study during and after the show. Anime and TV dramas were never my thing but I did watch a few just to learn a bit about them and how they differ from their western counterparts.
What really kept me interested was music. Japan has a very diverse range of popular music, the bubblegum variety is intense and sometimes childish, there are some pop singers who emulate overtly sexual western acts, Anime music is it’s own genre and Visual-Kei is still around. There is enka (post traditional japanese “country” music), rock and hip hop with a slightly different feel from it’s western counterparts. What I enjoyed most were some genre benders. Japanese indie artists (chiptune to hardcore to hip hop) also produce some of the most creative and progressive music in the world. Pop music spans a much wider variety in Japan and it moves so quickly so you will never run out of it. Learning song titles is good. Finding a song with a little repetition is good. Also make a point to learn words where the sound sticks out in your mind.
Food names are also words you have to know so you might as well learn from the first. Not only that, Japanese food is delicious and has endless variety. City and prefecture names are something you will need to know if you ever want to go to Japan and you can learn a good amount of characters this way. Learning the names of some celebrities may make learning characters more fun too.