I know this question was asked already several times here but ....
The option always advised here does not work for me, the next school room option would be about 400km to travel.
So I need advice what choice of interactive program is best for me.
Given the price I want to be pretty sure I buy the right one.
I aim at learning enough to converse on a basic level, i do not plan to move to Japan, but I plan to travel not the tourist routes, so polite greeting, asking the way, choosing the right restroom, reading timetables and so on is what i am looking for.

I know the advice is always here to learn from someone who learned Japanese in Japan or learn it in Japan, but i donot have enough time to spend to travel to Japan and learn it there before leaving Tokyo, AND i do not care at all to stick only to the tourist haunts, i plan to learn about woodcrafts mainly, i am learned cabinett maker and interested in how things are done in Japan there, I am already using a few tools i consider superior to european ones so this is my main reason to travel to Japan.

If someone knows an cabinet maker in Japan who is fluent in english and eager to teach a few tricks of the trade to an curious european all the better !

(I am offcourse already quite happy to sit in an corner and observe quitly, but if i am able to ask questions and understand answers it is more than i hope for!)

My idea is to learn enough Japanese spoken and written before i travel to Japan so an Japanese can explain to me technical terms in woodmaking in Japanese, i doubt there are language courses aimed at cabinett makers.

THANKS!

Well you can try learning some on your own with a textbook. It's not that difficult. If it's only for traveling and short-terms then having a dictionary in your pocket is more than enough. Moreover many Japanese speak understandable English . So don't worry! Dictionaries help a lot and you can save money instead of going to a long and expensive courses. Good luck!

While being able to speak Japanese isn't absolutely crucial in order to survive in Japan, it does help and it often makes people more inclined to help you. Reading textbooks as well as exposing yourself to a lot of spoken Japanese can help you pick up some basic speaking skills. A great way to help you practice and increase your fluency is to find a Japanese speaking partner (preferably a native speaker or at least someone who has been speaking Japanese for several years) and speak Japanese with them on a regular basis.

While it costs a lot (~$400) Rosetta Stone is the absolute top-tier product for any second language. I tried its online service for German a few years back, and in just a week I was getting so much out of it. I ordered the Japanese set the other day and I should be getting it next week, can't wait!

By the way, if you buy it, order it from the website, you'll get free shipping and there's no markup that you'd have to pay buying it from a book store.

I'm not a fan of Rosetta Stone. While it's a good way to learn basic vocabulary words, it doesn't really help you to hold comprehensive conversations. In fact, throughout the entire program, they don't even teach you how to tell someone what your name is.