There are many things in the Japanese culture that people from overseas are surprised to see.

Through their eyes, we may gain a new understanding of Japan.

As an example, let me introduce the journal comic series, Nordic Girl Asa Discovers the Mysteries of Japan.

The author is Asa Ekstrom, a Swedish manga artist.

When Asa was thirteen years old, she watched the Japanese animation The Guardian Sailor Moon on TV in her country.

It was surprising for her to learn that all the female characters were strong.

She had never seen that before.

From that moment on, she felt a strong connection with Japan and began to dream of becoming a cartoonist.

She had some experience drawing illustrations and writing stories.

She gradually hoped to live her life surrounded by Japanese animation and cartoon characters.

Asa often came to Japan and visited various areas to get to know this fascinating country better.

The only Japanese words she had known before she came to Japan were geisha and samurai.

As she came to know more about Japan, she discovered more and more of its wonders.

Her journey throughout Japan motivated her to draw comics about her discoveries.

Asa finally came to live in Japan in 2011.

We will now look at some of her discoveries of Japan through her eyes.

The Wonders of Rice Balls and Cup Noodles

I love convenience store rice balls, but I hated to unwrap them because it took a lot of time.

When I discovered how to unwrap them, I was overjoyed!

It was so easy and convenient.

Foreign people are not used to such convenience.

I also love cup noodles, but I didn’t know there is a sticker on the bottom of the container to hold the lid down.

How thoughtful!

I think every Japanese product has a little kindness in it.

Sometimes it’s so little that we cannot even notice it.

The Wonder of Daily Life

The staff at Japanese department stores wrap everything I buy beautifully with great care.

I like it, but I think it’s a waste of paper.

I don’t keep the goods wrapped, but throw away the wrapping paper as soon as I return home.

It also amazes me that staff stand in front of the ATMs at banks and politely bow to customers.

I appreciate such a generous attitude.

It really shows how important service and manners are in Japan, but I don’t think the Japanese need to go so far.

What is the most important thing in life?

Many Japanese would probably answer this question with my work.

However, many Swedes just do their work for the purpose of enjoying their leisure.

We can see in the cartoon on the next page the different ways of thinking about work.

The Swedes say that they do their work so that they can take time off for leisure.

They do not work on weekends, they take long vacations, and look forward to their retirement.

Nobody works during the summer vacation.

Even if Asa calls a hotel in May to make a reservation for August, it is very hard to find a room.

The reply she usually gets is that the rooms are fully booked before summer and that she should call again after the August holidays.

The Japanese, on the other hand, have a very different view of work.

Asa was surprised to hear a 70-year-old taxi driver remark, I kept working after retirement because life without work is boring.

In Sweden, elderly people do not work.

Asa sees the Japanese as kind and considerate.

The sticker provided to hold down the lid of a cup noodles container is a good example.

She also thinks of the Japanese as serious and hardworking, like the bank staff.

However, she notes that the Japanese tend to go along with others and think too much about the people around them.

A Swede like me is always thinking of happiness for myself.

It is not important to care about what others think of me and how different I am from others.

Let me introduce a Swedish word, lagom.

It means just the right amount of happiness.

In other words, it's not too much, and not too little.

We use lagom as in It is lagom today when talking about the weather, work, feelings... just about anything.

I think Japanese people sometimes work too hard and play too much.

Lagom would be a good word for them.

In her comics, Asa describes her various discoveries in Japan from the differences in culture to small things around us.

In her four-frame cartoons, we see things that are amazing to her, but that seem natural to us.