I want to learn Japanese and have been dabbling on Duolingo for fun for a few years. I was thinking of starting to do it seriously and study to sit the N5 exam sometime (because I like pieces of paper telling me how smart I am), but am starting to wonder if there really is any point to it or if I'm just wasting my time.
My family thinks it's pretty stupid of me and have a low opinion of my interest in Japan/Japanese culture/anime/etc.
I am planning a trip there in September, but some things online say that tourist areas will speak English and Japanese people may not understand foreigners even if they try to speak Japanese. Any experience on if that is true or not?
If I have no plan to work/live there, am I realistically just wasting my time wanting to learn the language? Has anybody found it useful otherwise?
by OkMathematician2050