learn japanese before japanology major

I would like to major in japanology but am currently unable to enroll in university because of chronic illness, and due its unpredictable nature I can't say when (and if) I'll be able to return to school.

Would it do any good to start learning japanese on my own? It would give me something to do and also somewhat of a buffer would my health deteriorate while in uni.

I already know all of the kana and really like the Remembering the Kanji method. Would that be a good place to start?

Thanks.

I don't see the harm in learning before your major, but it won't help you finish your major any faster.

You'll just be forced to replace the Japanese classes that you skipped with random credits.

There is never a bad time to learn & Japanese is a long haul anyway so why not start now. However while learning the kanji is a good target, learning conversational Japanese is much more useful. It's one thing to be able to read a sign, another to be able to talk to the shopkeeper.