How to study Japanese?

I'll try to keep this short.

I want to start learning Japanese, but since I don't have Pimsleur money I need a method to hit it.  Right now I have 'A Guide to Writing Kanji And Kana' Book 1 and 2, by Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn, and Living Language's 'Ultimate Japanese' (which is supposedly a VERY shitty book, but it was free and I'm using it for grammar/conjugation only.)  I'm debating making flash cards as well.

So, how should I go about learning it?  I'm sure just reading it won't be enough...

Install east asian languages on your computer so you can read japanese sites

I'm learning it right now with a combination of Pimsleur level 1-3 (pirated zomg) and forcing myself to learn katataka, hiragana and kanji. I've memorized katakana and I'm learning hiragana. During class I write practice sentences in both (in english, just using Japanese characters...for now)

I'll probably either take an advanced course in it or find a speaker and talk to them in person more, if I ever get the chance to do either (living in the middle of nowhere has disadvantages)