Amount Of Time

[dire python]

I hear most people, like MattVsJapan and Dogen, saying they have put in around 5 hours to 7 hours per day of studying Japanese at some points in their journey to get to where they are after many years of learning the language. Well, for me at least, I have no idea how anyone could spend any more than 3 hours a day studying a language unless they lived in the country of their target language and were receiving input for most of the day by hanging out with friends, going out in public, etc.
Because I can barely get in max 1 hour per day of active immersion (either Kana recall strengthening, YouTube immersion, or Anki flashcards). If I do a lot more than 1 hour per day, I feel like it's taking me away from my non-Japanese personal life.

Can someone explain to me how on earth this could be possible?
Or is it that I have too much of a life that's not Japanese, to be able to study it for that much per day?

I want to within the next 5 years maximum be able to understand most Japanese video games completely, be able to watch most anime without subtitles, and be conversationally fluent at a basic level for when I go to stay in Tokyo for 3 months every year (if I like Tokyo).

[dire python]

Ohh, that makes a lot more sense.
I was thinking that they were still putting in that much around. That's a lot less discouraging now for me.

'Cause yeah, I have a full time job like a lot of people do so 1 hour is really the most I can guaranteed commit to it every single day.

[ashen herald]

Also, how much time during the day do you spend on other hobbies that aren't Japanese? Or watching content in your native language?

In the beginning it's hard to imagine "studying" for 5 hours a day, because it feels like such hard work on your brain, but eventually it becomes just as fun as watching a show in your native language that it doesn't really feel much like studying anymore.

[winter fulcrum]

There is a lot to this and i'm sorry i don't have a ton of time to make a proper post, but, I will say that I recomend trying to work up to 2 hours a day of pur immersion with maybe another 30 min of flashcards if you want to hit your goal within 5 years. Youw ont be "Matt" level but I would think that should get you on track to being able to understand most everyday content and have everyday conversations pretty cofortably. (but again, there is a lot that plays into it, everybody is different)

[hidden narwhal]

Keep in mind a few things just on a side note that might make you feel better.

It seems like your goal is a lot less. Keep in mind "their level" is

1. Having really solid pronounciation and pitch accent
2. Really natural word choice
3. Incredible grammar.

If your goals are just to play games and stuff in your language you can do that to an enjoyable level pretty quckly honestly if you are smart about it. Especially if you follow the domain advice you will get there super fast. If you just make sure not to spend any time on pitch accent, or test prep stuff etc.