Any serious study of kanji needs a lot of writing practice, even if eventually, in real life, you will not write a lot. This is what all Japanese kids go through, and what all of us who managed to reach a decent level in Japanese (i.e. being able to read, more or less fluently, modern and contemporary material) did. This is how you accustom your brain to this very complex writing system.
Of course, if your objective is just to manage, to read street and transportation signs and restaurant menus, you don't need to do all that. Just a bit of passive recognition would do. Which is also perfectly fine.
It seems my previous contribution was a bit short and not totally clear. What I wanted to convey was the idea that, at the initial stage of your studies (and in the case of Japanese, this can mean the first couple of years), there is no shortcut to learning to write the kanji if you wish to attain real proficiency.
Why is it so? Based on my own experience, it is the best way to learn precisely and accurately how kanji are made - what are the radical and the element(s) of each kanji. You will also learn the correct stroke order of each kanji part, which is not only a curiosity, but the key to be able to read any hand written document, not even talking about the different calligraphic styles.
Later on in your studies, once you got the hang of it, there will be no need for regular written practice (except in preparation for exams), as in the 21st century, we barely write by hand anymore. In the case of Japan, the only things you may still be required to hand-write from time to time are your address, your profession, etc. But your initial written practice would have been the key to reading fluency and good recognition and retention of new kanji you encounter.
As for my mention of menu items, it is true that you will find there many low frequency kanji, but this does not mean you need to write them to be able to recognise them.