What is the most difficult thing about learning an Asian language?

I’m European and have learned to speak English, German and Swedish. I’ve also dabbled a bit in Italian and Spanish. Now I really want to learn an Asian language. <br><br>I am thinking Mandarin Chinese or Japanese. But these languages are so different from what I’ve learned before so I don’t know really where to start, where to focus. I guess the most difficult thing will be the symbols/letters but is it time worth spending? Once you get to know them will it be a nice addition to your language skills or is it better to learn to read them as you go and focus on speaking and listening instead? <br><br>Has anybody here learned an Asian language from scratch? How did you approach it?