Here’s the list of my books [mostly from Tuttle Publishing] and other learning materials and I use in my quest to learn Japanese. Wow I didn’t realize how many books I have! [Sorry the order of the items jumps around a bit.]
They are linked to Barnes and Noble [or other site] if you care to purchase. Ganbatte!
The link to the books I have relating to travel in Japan are here.
Pimsleur Japanese 1 CD audio course.
This was the starting point for me. 30 half hour lessons. Must have!!
I bought the first 8 lessons on Itunes for under 10 bucks but sadly, it looks like it was dropped from Itunes 
Pimsleur Japanese 2 CD Audio Course
Once I was finished with the first 30 lessons, I traded them In for a one-hundred dollar discount voucher towards the 2nd version.
In Flight Japanese Audio Book.
Also available on Itunes for 9 bucks.
Customs and Etiquette of Japan
Being polite goes a long way in Japan.
Random House Japanese-English Dictionary
Referrence Dictionary
Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook
I took this with me to Japan. Standard Phrasebook with Romanji, Kana and Kanji. Very handy.
Phrase book I use more for practice.
Romanji and Kana. Good book for when you have a few minutes to study.
Similar to ‘Survival Japanese’ [above]
Lots of information in one book. I didn’t buy the book with the CD
so I would recommend it if you can afford it.
This little book has it all! Must have!
3 audio CD’s with a small pamphlet. Haven’t spent much time with it yet.
Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters
Must have book for learning Kanji.
Breaks down the approx. 2000 Kanji in the order that Japanese grade
school students learn them. [I'm currently in 2nd grade]
VERY thorough and I understand it’s one of the top books out there.
The book that forced me to learn Hiragana and Katakana!! Nice!
So much information. I read it daily. My favorite book!!
Learning Hiragana and Katakana
This is a good book but doesn’t give any mnemonics.
I use a white board to practice the characters instead of the worksheets in the book.
Business card size flash cards. Must have for Learning Hiragana and Katakana.
Includes vocab related to the respective character studied. Must have!
Start with this book for learning Kanji.
Locate any Kanji immediately. Cool book but I wish it was pocket size.
Business card size flash cards.
Good for practice once you’ve learned some Kanji. For initial learning, I prefer the ‘Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters’ above as there are no mnenonics.
Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar
Just the Grammar. Great book but fairly dry reading.
I use the romanized version for a class I’m taking. there is a Kana version here
