Since coming to Japan, I have only used information, 104, a few times. It was not as bad as I thought, although I did request that the operator us polite Japanese, opposed the ultra-polite and humble language they tend to use.

Lizさん、
「ニヨクハ」　は　なん　ですか？

“New York” は　にほんごで　「ニューヨーク」ですよ。
じゃ　また
ジョン

Lizさん、すごいです！頑張っていますね！日本語でどんどんコメント書いてください！

ジョンさん、毎度ありがとうございます！

Can Natsuko-san be the voice of my cellphone voice-mailbox also? o-negai nasaimasu.

Can Information in Japan also make your connection, as in the States? If they don’t do this, you gotta wonder why.

BTW, did you all hear the news? Norikaちゃん is now engaged. Sorry guys. You can read about it on my blog.

I trust no one was affected by the two tsunamis the other night.

Robさん, I haven’t heard of “Japanese in mangaland”, but I do have “Japanese, the manga way”. It covers basic grammar (both polite and plain form) using examples from real manga. It makes a nice complement to other classroom texts. However, remember it is teaching grammar rather then kanji, so the end result is better grammar, not the ability to read kanji.

There’s also “Mangajin’s Basic Japanese through comics”. This is a compilation of magazine articles and covers some interesting topics, but in a more random and less complete way. It does cover some concepts that are difficult for westerners to understand fairly thoroughly, so is a useful read. This is definitely complementary rather than replacing more formal texts.

Robさん、
　　　I do have Japanese in Mangaland and it looks like a pretty good book.
For me, I think it is better to do something like the Genki series or Japanese for Busy People (JFBP). These series have books, workbooks, CDs, and Video (JFBP). This makes them be more comprehensive. Personally, I find the workbooks and exercises crtical to retaining information. So I think these are preferrable to Japanese In Mangaland.
That being said, the biggest challenge with learning Japanese is sticking to it and working on it daily. If books like “Japanese in Mangaland” can help to make things more fun and interesting and keep people studying, than they are perhaps “better” than Genki or JFBP. Personally, I think Genki and JFBP are interesting and well written but I think some people get bored with them and give up.
So I guess what I am saying is that if you think Japanese in Mangaland looks interesting, perhaps you should give it a try. On the other hand, Genki would be my top recommendation for a more serious student of the language.
　　　At the moment, I am taking a break from Genki II to study for JLPT Level 3. I look forward to getting back and finishing Genki II. Also I have completed all three levels of JFBP.
じゃ　また
ジョン

クンレイさん、JapanesePod101.comへようこそ！初めまして。ピーターと申します。宜しくお願いします！
Thank you for posting! Please keep them coming.

Peter said -”And that number will be available in the first comment of today’s lesson”？！？　
そのでんわばんごうはどこですか。なんばんですか。誰の電話番号ですか。

Otayamaken-san, 申し訳ございませんでした。 We forgot to put the number in the first post. The number provided by Joao-san is correct. The number is 03-3721-4681.

So whose number is this?