What do you think of my japanese friend?

Hello everyone!
I have a very nice japanese friend whom I've been communicating with for more than a half year now. he is 24 and I'm 21 but despite of the age gap, it seems like we are just in the same age. Hehe. We had a funny talk during our first conversation, so since then, we talk almost every night., he tells me everything about his day,just like he was embarrassed in school for not answering his professor's question correctly, he was touched in the movie that he watched or sometimes novel that he read, he tells me about the weather, where did he go, what did he eat, what did he do and he even take pictures so I could see it. I am so updated about his life! Hahaha. So of course,i also do the same. He pays attention to everything i say, which makes me feel that sharing with him is not a waste. If I can't send him message, he asks for valid reasons. If he can't send me message, he tells me earlier and he explains and gives valid reasons even though I don't ask for it. He is really sweet! Hehe

I think, I am emotionally attached with this guy and I think I really like him. Honestly, this is the first time i felt this way, I've never been in a relationship so it is hard for me to guess if those are just friendly gestures or not.., pls help! :(

One more thing, , he gave me little compliments like.. I am inspiring him to study more, he said I'm interesting, kind and tender, cute and I could always cheer him up. He said with me, he can relax, he can express himself and he is comfortable to talk.

Now, my problem is.. I don't know what does my japanese penpal really think of me., do you think, I could consider those words that he likes me too...or not? Is this just all about friendship? What do you think guys? If it is... Then I could stop my fantasy now, so if you have any opinion, you have experienced this before, or know cases like this, pls, leave a comment.. I wanna hear your side! That will be a very big help for me. Thank you so much in advance!

At least he dislike you. That is not meant he loves you.
I think you both are kept good friendship. I think you both keep the way.
To keep good friendship between penpals or online friends are an extremely difficult.
So my suggestion is keep the right way.
21 and 24 have no age gap, both of you live in the same generation.

Sakura- I think he is showing some fondness for you and you for him. Take it slow and easy. This could become something wonderful. There have been several people on this forum who have successful relationships and even marriage from long distance beginnings.

Best of Luck to both of you.
Umi

Almost to the day, 13 years ago I married my penpal who I met in the penpal section of this very Japan Guide. So anything can happen.
There will come a time when you need to take it to the next level and meet in person. That will change everything. Will you guys hit it off then? Or does everything fall flat like a house of cards. Expectations have been built during the emails, Skype conversations, etc, yet everything is different in person, it is almost like starting over from scratch. A scary moment.
If you guys still hit it off from there, come back and ask another question here as families can start to push back on the relation, etc. I'm still no favourite of my mother in law, I can tell you that :-)

hi tokyo friend,. :) yes you are right. hehe, there's no age big age gap. :)yeah, maybe he is just being a good friend for giving me such attention.
thanks for you advice.

dear hirosomi, hahaha, thank you for saying that!! i feel more inspired now. :P , yep.. i'll take it slowly because if this is really gonna be my first, i want it to be my last, so i totally agree with you.that's the reason why i posted in this forum, to meet people like you who could give good advice. hehe.

hello hoshisato!
thank you for sharing. :)
yes, we are planning to meet next year because i will visit my aunt in ishikawa. he is in tokyo, but he said, he will go to ishikawa to meet me. :)
today, i could say we are very close because im free to share and tell him whatever i want and him to me. maybe because of our continuous communication. he tells me almost everything about his life, maybe the only thing i don't know about is his love life. hehe, i really dont have an idea whether he has a girlfriend, ex of what. but one thing is for sure, he doesnt have a wife because he never had aisaibentou. we agreed to make aisaibentou together when i visit japan. haha, it was late when i figure out that aisaibentou was just made by couples. i was embarrased! haha
anyways, im so shy to ask. and also he doesn't know about mine because he never asked. so is it a clear sign that he is not interested with me?