Can you guess which country this city is in?
I found this amusing in the happiest kind of way: people of one culture enjoying aspects of a different culture. It looks odd, but only because of our preconceptions about cultures. But it brings people together at the cultural level and that’s a very positive thing. Notice the very modern Japanese (well, global, actually) tendency to wear runners! (Apart from the little girl in the back right with wellies/gumboots/whatever, which may be closer to the correct footwear!) Not wanting to launch something here, but isn’t this ‘cultural appropriation,’ and blatantly so? I have no problem with people from, in this case, Japanese culture indulging in the pleasures and delights of another, in this case Swedish, culture. I’m sure that there will be some interesting blends around the edges. But if this is cultural appropriation, it seems very positive to me, in this case at least. And as it is a conscious choice, is it a problem?
European architecture with big windows and sloping roofs
Large open fields with blooming lupin flowers. So probably either America, Canada or somewhere in Northern Europe?
Idyllic hills and people sleeping in hammocks.
This is the town of Sweden Hills in Japan.
The town is located about 30 kilometers from Sapporo, which is the largest city on the island of Hokkaido.
The wooden houses are painted in Falu red, which is the most typical color on traditional houses in Sweden. Steps, doors, window carves, etc are almost always pained in white. But it’s not only the houses that are similar in Sweden Hills but also the trees and landscapes are very similar as well. Here is another one: Colonia Torvar, founded in 1843 by German immigrants to Venezuela. It lies at around 1,800m just a few degrees north of the equator.
How did a Swedish town end up in Japan?
A Swedish ambassador visited the area in the 1970’s and noticed that the climate and surroundings of the region were very much like Sweden. Soon after, development work on Sweden Hills started and since then over 1000 inhabitants have moved
Can you guess which country this city is in?
European architecture with big windows and sloping roofs
Large open fields with blooming lupin flowers. So probably either America, Canada or somewhere in Northern Europe?
Idyllic hills and people sleeping in hammocks.
This is the town of Sweden Hills in Japan.
The town is located about 30 kilometers from Sapporo, which is the largest city on the island of Hokkaido.
The wooden houses are painted in Falu red, which is the most typical color on traditional houses in Sweden. Steps, doors, window carves, etc are almost always pained in white. But it’s not only the houses that are similar in Sweden Hills but also the trees and landscapes are very similar as well.
How did a Swedish town end up in Japan?
A Swedish ambassador visited the area in the 1970’s and noticed that the climate and surroundings of the region were very much like Sweden. Soon after, development work on Sweden Hills started and since then over 1000 inhabitants have moved here.
About a third of the homes are vacation homes that can be rented for about $1200 and the rest are residential homes.
Yes, not only are people living there permanently, they even have their own Midsommar festival and here is a picture of a bunch of Japanese people celebrating Midsommar in a Swedish town in Japan.
They also have a crayfish party.
So, if you happen to be near Sapporo someday, think about taking a 30minute train ride to Sweden…in Japan.
I found this amusing in the happiest kind of way: people of one culture enjoying aspects of a different culture. It looks odd, but only because of our preconceptions about cultures. But it brings people together at the cultural level and that’s a very positive thing. Notice the very modern Japanese (well, global, actually) tendency to wear runners! (Apart from the little girl in the back right with wellies/gumboots/whatever, which may be closer to the correct footwear!)
Not wanting to launch something here, but isn’t this ‘cultural appropriation,’ and blatantly so? I have no problem with people from, in this case, Japanese culture indulging in the pleasures and delights of another, in this case Swedish, culture. I’m sure that there will be some interesting blends around the edges. But if this is cultural appropriation, it seems very positive to me, in this case at least. And as it is a conscious choice, is it a
I'd say that cultural appropriation should not be an issue. It's kind of cute and harmless fun.
What people should be criticising is cultural misappropriation. These people are obviously doing their best to respectfully imitate Swedish culture. If I were a Swede, I'd be fine with that. If they LabajoAgreed. I don’t doubt however for there to be a few Japanese people here and there bringing this forward as an example of ’cultural appropriation’ in the negative sense, but I take comfort in the fact that most Japanese people seem to find no issue with that. And may such be the case for generations to
I think Japan likes doing this in general. I stumbled upon a Hawaiian festival in Japan once which didn't seem to feature anyone Hawaiian looking at all (either of the native kind or the standard America white kind) though given how many Japanese people have been in Hawaii there easily could have been. I didn't get that impression though, seems a bunch of Japanese people just wanted to hula dance and drink from coconuts. There's also a Spanish village not too far from where I used to live which is appearantly a theme
Do they have permanent darkness for a good part of the year and two weeks of Summer? Sorry if not this really is not like Sweden. Oh and they need lots of depressed folks as well. Nice try
Here is another one: Colonia Torvar, founded in 1843 by German immigrants to Venezuela. It lies at around 1,800m just a few degrees north of the equator.
As a liberal centrist I would really really really like those further t to the left to become less shrill and self-righteous in their discussion of how culture meets, blends and intersects in the dimension of culture. The idea of naming and shaming people who have committed the not-crime (because it isn’t) of cultural appropriation so they can be cancelled (where a mob tries, judges and executes a person based on its own convictions with no due process) is not helping ANYONE. Not the people who are shamed for it, not the people who are being spoken on behalf of.
At best it is a misguided attempt to make a complex matter simple, at worst it is a white saviour (because they almost always are) attempting to crusade against others so they can feel better about themselves. “I know I’m not part of the problem whilst I’m hurling stones at the one who committed the sin” thinks the culture crusader, not realising that they are not doing to others what they are trying to protect others against.
About a third of the homes are vacation homes that can be rented for about $1200 and the rest are residential homes. Nice, but nobody who’d ever been around North America would ever think that town is anywhere in the US or Canada. It looks very much like many places in Scandinavia. I’ve been around North America a lot, many states and provinces and I’ve been to Scandinavia several times (Sweden, Denmark and several times to Norway, various areas). It may look a bit like Faroe Islands or Iceland and possibly Shetland or Orkney but I’ve not been to those. The Japanese do things with care and in detail, so this doesn’t surprise me, but I’d never seen it before. I can tell you that Rogaland, Norway was the most Japanese place I’ve been without going to Japan. This is because the yards are so simple and clean, the trees are pruned and placed in ways you might expect to see, and, the houses are similar too, to what you might expect in Japan. As well, the stones around the roads and walkways, very uniform and also what you might expect in Japan. The coast and mountain views probably didn’t hurt either. I found myself thinking of the Rogaland Norwegians as ‘Norsamurai’ (Norse-Samurai). North America is mostly cheap siding, tasteless brick, different overall designs and different colours, not like those in your pics (red, yelllow, etc, like Scandinavian). North American homes are built for mass appeal, to hide dirt (so, lots of bland medium browns, in and out, top to bottom) and re-sale value (so again, browns to try to appeal to the largest amount of buyers, also without any real taste). I’m Canadian and I much prefer Scandinavia, though I made my own home and half acre here in Ontario very similar to Scandi and Japan, before selling it in 2014. I wouldn’t be in Canadian real estate with your money, let alone my own. It’s due for a crash, big time… We were a penal colony (though not my ancestors). Btw, I did see many lupins all around Norway, and planted some in Ontario, but there really aren’t many around North America that I’ve seen. Norway does have tonnes (too many actually, though they are lovely in most cases).
Yes, not only are people living there permanently, they even have their own Midsommar festival and here is a picture of a bunch of Japanese people celebrating Midsommar in a Swedish town in Japan.
They also have a crayfish party.
So, if you happen to be near Sapporo someday, think about taking a 30minute train ride to Sweden…in Japan.
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