Having read Murakami first in English then in Japanese then years later again in Japanese after living in the culture each was a different but worthwhile experience. The last was in some ways least exciting because I realized that characters I had thought of as fascinatingly original or quirky just referred to tropes or stereotypes in the broader culture. I don’t think any literature really gives an accurate sense of another culture unless you have other base knowledge. I’m interested in Russia somewhat but I read Dostoveysky almost as occuring in some universal European setting, I don’t read for the details of Russian culture.