Is my Japanese friend interested in me?

[AngelicFluff]

So I've been talking to my Japanese friend for a while and sometimes he says things that I'm not quite sure are hints pointing to whether or not he likes me. To me it really seems like underplayed flirting or maybe he sees me just as a friend but I'll give a few examples.
One time I was talking about gifts and things that girlfriends usually get for their boyfriends on occasions. He said something about his older brother's girlfriend and then he said something to the effect of "What kind of gift do you think would make a girl really happy?" So I said something like chocolate or makeup and he says "but if it's you, you'd like so and so right?"
Another example would be when we were talking about height and I said I'm really short and he said "That's okay because I like short girls ^^"
Also he wants a go a lot of places with me. Since we have similar interests. Most of the time it would just be the two of us. I know that he doesn't have really any girl friends besides me. I'm just unsure >_<
I don't know if this is because culturally we are different so it's hard to tell. I've heard about that reading mind thing and how it's sort of non-verbal.
I think that I myself like him a bit so maybe its just my bias, and I'm hoping for too much but I want to hear outside opinions as well.

[RadioKid]

Japanese boys are not good at making romantic mood with girls even with Japanese girls.

I think he can not find what he should do and what he should not do at facing foreign girl.