Is this common in Japan? I am a single foreigner female. I noticed, while studying abroad and working in Japan, that my guy friends would just offer to carry my bags, open doors for me, and generally be just be much more polite than most guys I’ve hung out with in the US. Has anyone else experienced this?
To be precise, while hanging out with some of my male Japanese friends from university (established friendship), multiple have genuinely offered (unprompted) to help carry my bag(s) when we are walking around and while I am actively carrying large/heavy bag(s). This of course surprised me, since this rarely occurs with my guy friends in other major US cities, unless I explicitly ask for help.
Edit: adjusting some language to not make the post sound more biased towards dating vs friendships. Also, adding additional detail to give further clarity.