4 ms·

As a Swede living in Japan, I get this a lot from both directions! It goes further than "wellness" too. My pet peeve is getting asked "I [heard/read] that peop

As a Swede living in Japan, I get this a lot from both directions! It goes further than "wellness" too. My pet peeve is getting asked "I [heard/read] that people put chips in their arms there?!" (presumably for payments..?) - both by Swedes about Japan and Japanese about Sweden. One difference I absolutely do see is what it means to "go camping". Growing up it usually meant bring your gear, hike out, picking some spot in the wilderness. In Japan that's something that is quite rare, "camping" almost always involves campsites.

tannhaeuser 6y ago
Might have to do with Scandinavia's vastly different population density and right to camp wherever you want in the Fjell (made possible by said population density).
- Legogris 6y ago
  I really don't think so - outside of the metro and city areas, Japan has no shortage of really rural areas. If anything I wonder if it can have to do with topology and vegetation (Sweden being flat in comparison and most of the fjäll are still quite campable due to sparse vegetation). It's also a bit of chicken-and-egg thing with normalization in the culture - wherever you go in Japan you can generally find affordable accommodation not too far, whereas in Sweden it's more of a luxury.
  - Ailete619 6y ago
    I also live in Japan, and IMO topology (mountain slopes are not ideal to camp, most of the flat areas being owned, you'll get the police called on you), fauna (bears, poisonous snakes, big wasps/bees, monkeys), overgrown vegetation(in the really wild areas), the possibility of natural disasters (floods, mud/land slides, ...) explain why the the risk-wary Japanese people prefer campsites. Campsites are also great because you can rent all the equipment you'll only need once a year, for the summer camp few days with your family as the Japanese working force does not have a lot of holidays. Also the equipment can get expensive fast if you want to camp comfortably, and would require storing space the Japanese people do not have at home and thus would need to rent ... Nevetheless, I think camping is getting popular and more and more people are buying equipment.
    - Legogris 6y ago
      Yeah, that's along what I think as well - apart from that I think the "getting police called on you" factor is neither a real risk nor something that really stops people from doing it. And it has indeed been a growing trend in the last couple of years, specifically with heavy imagery and inspiration from Scandinavia.
  - pcmaffey 6y ago
    Also camping in campsites, hiking on trails, etc is much more sustainable now that there are 9 billion of us. Perhaps a greater sense of conservation?

tannhaeuser 6y ago

Might have to do with Scandinavia's vastly different population density and right to camp wherever you want in the Fjell (made possible by said population density).

Legogris 6y ago
I really don't think so - outside of the metro and city areas, Japan has no shortage of really rural areas. If anything I wonder if it can have to do with topology and vegetation (Sweden being flat in comparison and most of the fjäll are still quite campable due to sparse vegetation). It's also a bit of chicken-and-egg thing with normalization in the culture - wherever you go in Japan you can generally find affordable accommodation not too far, whereas in Sweden it's more of a luxury.
- Ailete619 6y ago
  I also live in Japan, and IMO topology (mountain slopes are not ideal to camp, most of the flat areas being owned, you'll get the police called on you), fauna (bears, poisonous snakes, big wasps/bees, monkeys), overgrown vegetation(in the really wild areas), the possibility of natural disasters (floods, mud/land slides, ...) explain why the the risk-wary Japanese people prefer campsites. Campsites are also great because you can rent all the equipment you'll only need once a year, for the summer camp few days with your family as the Japanese working force does not have a lot of holidays. Also the equipment can get expensive fast if you want to camp comfortably, and would require storing space the Japanese people do not have at home and thus would need to rent ... Nevetheless, I think camping is getting popular and more and more people are buying equipment.
  - Legogris 6y ago
    Yeah, that's along what I think as well - apart from that I think the "getting police called on you" factor is neither a real risk nor something that really stops people from doing it. And it has indeed been a growing trend in the last couple of years, specifically with heavy imagery and inspiration from Scandinavia.
- pcmaffey 6y ago
  Also camping in campsites, hiking on trails, etc is much more sustainable now that there are 9 billion of us. Perhaps a greater sense of conservation?