Quote (Bricegould @ Apr 12 2010 07:59pm)

I'm in the process of learning it and I tried the approach of learning to speak it. It wasn't easy. I spent some time and learned all the kana and am slowly learning new kanjii as I come across them. From experience it is much more rewarding to be able to read the language then finding romaji. Romaji is extremely inconsistent and far from correct. Your phrase "Watashi wa Geisha, Chibi desu, hajimemashite." Already has an error. it's ha not wa. It does sound like wa though. I also guarantee that after learning to read kana and some kanji you will begin to hate romaji. It's annoying. For example tate can mean build or sit.
Here are some excellent sources: http://www.smart.fm/  http://www.livemocha.com/  http://www.yamasa.cc/  http://jisho.org/  http://www.mitsora.net/learn/
If you are serious learning to only speak won't be an easy task. Being capable of reading japanese gives you access to learning new words, dictionaries, culture, a better understanding of their word order.
"Learning is done best when reading, speaking, and hands on."