Dutch YouTuber Elafreya, who travels around Japan, finds gestures only “Tokyo fans” show

Dutch YouTuber Ella Freya (25), who distributes videos of her travels around Japan on YouTube, is currently enjoying a tremendous increase in the number of subscribers to her channel.

The catalyst for this growth is the very popular game “Resident Evil RE:4” (Capcom), which was released in March of this year and has sold 3.15 million copies worldwide. A tweet with a video attached, in which she served as the face model for the heroine Ashley and was photographed in front of a TV playing a promotional video at an electronics retail store in Akihabara, garnered over 100,000 likes.

When we asked her how she felt about it, she replied in beautiful Japanese as follows.

I think the reason why the number of subscribers is growing so fast is because of my followers. When I read comments from my followers saying, ‘I can now work harder’ or ‘I feel more energetic,’ I get energized as well. I also study Japanese through their comments.”

She first came to Japan because of a Gothic & Lolita fashion magazine and the manga “NANA” written by Ai Yazawa. She attended Japanese language school for a year and has enough language skills to have almost no trouble with daily conversation. She likes natto and other Japanese foods such as sushi, sashimi, okonomiyaki, and onigiri.

She often stirs natto and eats it over rice, but she also likes “natto bread,” which she puts between pieces of bread with a fried egg. I also like ‘natto bread.’ It’s delicious with a fried egg and bread. When I recommend it to my friends, they are surprised at first, but then they are amazed at how good it tastes!

Videos of the group touring Sendai, Kobe, Izu Oshima, and other locations in Japan, enjoying local delicacies and exploring famous landmarks, have gained popularity. The most popular video is of a private open-air bath in Oita Prefecture, with over 10 million views.

Viewers seem to find my reactions amusing,” he says. They like to see me enjoying and being amazed by Japanese culture and traditions. If I am making the viewers happy, I am happy too.

Currently, Ella has published four digital photo books. In March 2009, her first photo book, “Ran Ran Ran,” won second place in Kodansha’s overall book category for the month, and she recently published “Ella Freya’s 4th digital photo book, Koi Koi Koi”.

The photo shoot for the first book was a great success, but there was a “cute mistake” made after the shoot.