Working, while learning Japanese?

I really want to learn Japanese, to be fluent.

I will first travel there before I make up my mind as to do it or not, and I know it takes several years.
I am 18 years old now, and plan to take a trip to Japan in April '08. I will be 19 then.

If I did start learning in school, I would start when I am almost 20. Say it takes 6-7 years of full time learning to be fluent, I would be about 26 years old.
I still live with my parents now, and of course I wouldnt want to live with them that long, nor would they.

I actually have a few questions...

-Would it interfere with learning to have a part time job, working 2-4 days a week?

-How would one stay learning Japanese, while being able to work enough, to make enough money to live on own?(which may not be until I am around 23-24.)

-Once fluent, would it be hard to stay fluent only by traveling to Japan now and then, listening to music, watching videos, playing video games ect...? (Considering I make no friends in school, or even in Japan, to practice speaking)

Thanks.

First, you are talking about studying in your home country, right? Have you considered coming to Japan to learn Japanese? You will learn it a lot faster here, and be able to work part time on a student visa.

I don't think 6 years of full time study would be necessary or practical- about 3 years of study, and then if you are in your home country maybe try to find a job where you will use Japanese daily. Study can only take you so far, actual practice of speaking the language in natural situations is very important if you want to becom fluent.

2 or 3 years full time study is usually plenty for spoken fluency, after that you would be continuing to study reading and writing, which takes longer to master but doesn't necessarily help your spoken fluency.

What do you plan to do with your Japanese skills? You may also find that studying only Japanese, with no other qualifications, means it is difficult to find a job when you finish, including in Japan, where a degree is usually required for a working visa. Japanese skills only would make your job choices in Japan very narrow, probably only English-teaching would be available to you. Other jobs available to non-Japanese are in IT and finance mostly, which requires appropriate experience. Some people become translators but it usually takes a few years in Japan before you develop the necessary contacts and networks to make this a full time job.

As for working while studying, plenty of university students manage it. I worked about 20 hours a week while studying full time at university, and got my degree no problems.

It really depends on your personal priorities and time management skills- if you are disciplined enough to put in the required amount of study as well as working, then you should be fine.

Yes, I was talking about studying here in my home country, Canada.

About learning in Japan, are there requirements to get a student Visa, to study in Japan? Also, would it be possible to work on a student Visa without any Japanese language skills?

I never intended to get a job using Japanese, but I would actually love to. As for English teaching, can one make a good living in Japan with this type of job, even without any teaching history?

Also with no degree, is the only other chance of working and living in Japan, a spouse Visa, besides a working holiday Visa?

I was surprised when you said only about 2-3 years of learning is needed for spoken fluency. This makes me a lot more likely to through with it.

As for speaking, I often watch videos on youtube and what not, and find that Japanese people speak very fast. Would I start to pick it up naturally if I have been studying for a few years?

Thanks again for such a great reply.