Trip to Sapporo: Day 14 - Sweden Hills, a Villaförort in Japan

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Midsummer images from Kameratrollet.

This is more "Swedish" than we see in most of Sweden…

Swedes are in general rather "bad" at establishing enclaves abroad like you often see other nationalities do when a reasonable number happens to emigrate to the same country, city or area. Therefore it was of course rather fun to read that there seemed to be such a thing here in Hokkaido - Sweden Hills (although, to be honest, it should rather have been named "Svenska Bergen"…).

Some quick research proved to rather confirm than dispute my initial statement, as this residential area in some wood-covered hills outside Tobetsu northeast of Sapporo is a Japanese initiative and the residents are quite japanese beyond the obvious Swedish theme. It was inspired though by a visit of the swedish ambassador who thought the nature in the area looked like back home, and I can absolutely agree with that. In 1984 the first house was built.
To get there is easiest to do by car, which I don't have, so I instead thought it was an excellent idea to walk in a semi-snow-storm…
Goofle Maps suggested that I go with train to the Ishikaritobetsu station and then walk 5 km mostly west to Sweden Hills, which was what I did (after starting up with going 500 m in the completely wrong direction, haha). In hindsight, it is nicer and easier to reach the area by getting of at the Ishikarifutomi station, because from there starts the Sweden street which goes straight up to Sweden hills, and along the way there are small stuff that has Swedish connections.
As I reached this area at the end, I was quite soaked and tired and wanting to protect my camera phone from more snow so I will cheat somewhat and show Google street view (i.e. summer pics):

The railway station at Ishikarifutomi is in itself a homage to Swedish culture.

A bridge with a Swedish "Dalahäst"

Ond of course the cliché version of the Viking helmet

So, what did it look like now in full winter? Well, lets see:

This is the more humble approach to Sweden Hills, from the east.

The first thing you notice is that there isn't all this airborne cables and wires, instead they are below ground, like in Sweden.

And the houses was impressively Swedish looking

But to be honest, we never have this much snow in most of Sweden… ;-)

Beyond a few exceptions like this house with bricks (spot on 70s Swedish style), the combination of all the snow and the extremely high frequency red houses with white corners, made me think of Sweden Hills like somewhat of a luxurious skiing resort in the Swedish mountains, with the only thing missing a couple of skiing slopes.

All-in-all, Sweden Hills seemed like a rather successful go at recreating the Swedish "Villaförort" i.e. suburban housing.

In comparison with Sweden, here they use some serious (10+) manpower to clear the tracks...

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Trip to Sapporo: Day 5 - Cooking Janssons frestelse

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When visiting Sapporo this summer I got asked to make Swedish meat balls, which was great fun and something I can actually manage OK.

この夏、私は札幌を訪れた。私はスウェーデンのミートボールを作った。楽しかったよ。

Now my friends here want me to make Jansson's frestelse ("The Temptation of Jansson"), a potato casserole with potatoes, anchovy (a kind of pickled fish), and more. Of course I agreed.

友達はスウェーデン料理を求めています。したがって。私は、ヤンソンの誘惑を調理。名前は、Janssons frestelse (ヤンソンの誘惑)である。

The dish is usually not a stand alone dish but part of the Swedish Christmas Smorgasbord.

皿を一人で提供されません。スウェーデンのクリスマスディナーの一部を務めていました。

Here is the recipe. Good luck and don't blame me for the results. (^_^)

処方箋です。結果はあなたの責任です。私を責めないでください。(^_^)

1 kilo potatoes

2 onions (not to small)

3 dl cream

2 cans of anchovy (125 - 200g depending on how salt you want it)

3 tablespoons of bread crumbs

2-3 tablespoons of butter

1キロのジャガイモ

2玉ねぎ

3dLクリーム

アンチョビの2缶

3大さじパン粉（125〜200グラム、あなたがそれをする方法に応じて）

2〜3杯のバター

1. If you are using an oven, turn it to 200 degrees.

1. あなたは、オーブンを使用している場合は、200度にオーブンを回す。

2. Cut the potato to into thin pieces. Do not wash it afterwards.

2. 薄片にじゃがいもをカット。それを洗浄しないでください。

3. Cut the onion into thin pieces. Fry it with some of the butter.

3. 薄片に玉ねぎをカット。バターと一緒に炒める。

4. Cut the anchovy into thin pieces. Save the liquid from the can.

薄片にアンチョビをカット。缶から液体を保存します。

4. Grease an ovenproof dish with the rest of the butter.

バターの残りの部分とオーブン証明料理をグリース。

5. Mix potato, onion and anchovy. Pour cream and some of the anchovy liquid.

ジャガイモ、タマネギとアンチョビを混ぜる。クリームを注ぐ。アンチョビの液体の一部を注ぐ。

6. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs. If you want, some butter on top.

パン粉を振りかける。あなたがしたい場合は、上にバターを入れて。

7. Oven: Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Microwave. Bake 15-20 minutes on 750W until the potatoes are soft. Use grill towards the end if you have that function.

7. オーブン：45〜50分間オーブンで焼くジャガイモが柔らかくなるまで。

電子レンジ : じゃがいもが柔らかくなるまで750Wに15〜20分焼く。あなたがその機能を持っている場合終わりに向かってグリルを使用してください。

8. Please enjoy.

8. 料理をお楽しみください。

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Swedish food: Surströmming (シュールストレミング)

I think it says roughly that Surströmming is literally the most special smell in the world. ^_^

They home page then goes on to promote t-shirts that says you have survived eating this fish that smells 67 times worse than old socks.

A selection of old Swedish Surströmming cans in my backyard. Ah, the memories...

One of the more special and should I say controversial Swedish dishes is the Surströmming, literally "Sour herring", or "fermented baltic herring" as it is often translated. It is known mostly for its smell, as the fermentation has created a pungent odor that can almost be seen on the can as the process even makes older cans swell outward from the pressure. The taste in itself, though, is something else, a salty and unique spectrum of flavors that beats everything else. ^_^
This means that even in its homeland, surströmming is often either loved or loathed, and as the opening of a can can make the whole neighborhood feel the smell (I kid you not), eating it in cities has its challenges.

これはシユールストラミングと呼ばれるスウェーデンの食品です。それは多くの臭い。非常に良い味がします。それについての詳細を読むために、このインターネットページに移動してください。
以下は、私はそれを食べるために方法を示しています。

Let me shortly walk you through a basic meal of surströmming:

First you open the can. Why do I mention this? Well, because if you dont open it under water, the explosiveness of the air leaving the can will spray you with very smelly surströmming-fluids. You *will* smell a little after eating surströmming (the burps...) but opening a can wrongly is nothing to play with (as carefree people prove again and again...). Also, be prepared for flies. Living next to a horse loving family has proven to be a bit of a handicap in regards to this... ;-)  One trick is to place the surströmming and the purge from the fish on a neighboring table and let the flies have it there.

 You eat surströmming by making special flatbread sandwiches. You eat them with butter, potato and minced onion (yellow or red). To milden the effect of eating basically rotten fish I often have milk as the drink. This is not the only way, but my way, by the way. ;-P

First you have to clear out the guts of the fish. There is a special technique to this, but basically you remove tail, fins, guts and then finally slice of the filets from the spine leaving you with two small filets that you divide into smaller pieces.

 Then you butter a flatbread ("tunnbröd"), the hard kind, mind you, and add a layer of mashed potato (no, you may not use ready-made potato mash) some minced onion and crown it all with pieces of surströmming.

Add the other buttered flatbread piece on top. Some experts (like me) then quickly flips the sandwich over as the hot potato sometimes makes the bread soft and makes it fall to pieces. Viola! Just eat and enjoy the probably most special piece of Swedish cuisine you can find.

Trip to Korea and Japan: Day 14 - Mountains and Meatballs

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I decided to go back to Mount Maruyama ( 円山, "round mountain") and really climb it this time. I walked up to the top following the "statue" trail, which starts behind the small shrine at the foot of the hill.

Here is they way I walked it, starting at the Mount Maruyama subway station

I had read that it was 50m high, and even though I love trekking it was still a small adjustment to learn (when reaching the top...) that it was actually 225 m high. Anyway, it was a great trip among Buddist statues wearing bibs (yes I know they have religious meaning) and lots of green foliage. The mountain is a protected wildlife area and you could feel that as the citylife soundscape receded among the trees and the old trees with great roots took over. This is what I love about going trekking, the feeling that studio Ghibli probably has conveyed the best in their Princess Mononoke when the main character Ashitaka follows the princess into the forest the first time and its spirits and gods appears.

I met a lot of fit seniors (no young Japanese here, they were probably all working, eh?) so I got to practice my Ohayou Gozaimasu (good morning), and then roughly at 10:30 I got Konnichi Wa (hello), so that was good to know.

Reaching the top you had a really great view of Sapporo. Japanese cities doesn't seem to have such an evident city cory, they rather spreads out and mixes skyscrapers and low-rise apartments or even houses. My guides home was a good example, a block of ordinary houses just a 5 min walk from the economic skyscraper center south of Sapporo station.

In the evening, I got asked to show how to make meatballs. As it is quite common in Sweden to actually buy the meatballs, some mashed potato powder, and a prepared gravy sauce, I actually hasn't done meatballs more than maybe 3-4 times in my life, so this was great fun.

The recipe was roughly like this (enough for four normal western portions):
A) Peel 1 kilo of potatoes and divide them into small bits and cook them in lots of water.
While that happens:
B) Mix 1 dl of bread crumbs with 2 dl of milk. The fatter the milk (or even cream) the tastier. Let it stand for 10 minutes so the bread crumbs swells up.
C) Add 1 kilo of minced meat. Originally you are supposed to use beef, but I often use pork, and yesterday they had bought some chicken, so the only thing I noticed from that is that possibly the chicken meat was a little "wet" meaning softer meatballs but it worked out nicely.
Also add salt (up to 2 tablespoons) and pepper, and 2 eggs. Again, if the meatballs becomes to soft, one egg may be enough, but we went with two.
D) Mix it all well for a minute or two. Prepare a large plate or cutting board by wetting it so the meat balls dont stick to it. Roll as many meat balls as you can! They shouldn't be bigger than 3-4 centimeters in diameter or it will be hard to fry them properly.
E) Fry the meatballs in butter. The butter may not be necessary but at least don't use any "strange" tasting oil ^_^. Don't waste any gravy, rather filter and save it in a small cup between cleaning the frying pan. Afterwards save any gravy left in a cup, and clean the frying pan. As an alternative you can filter the finished sauce, that is actually how I think it is often done...
F) Melt butter (how much?, well I took like maybe 200 g) and add flour (without burning the butter) until you have a thick viscous/semi-paste. It sounds complicated but what I basically do is throwing some butter down in the pan and adding flour till I think it is getting so thick that it would almost stick if you turned the frying pan upside-down.
G) After that, add the thick milk, or even preferably, cream. Again, I would say we used roughly 3 dl but you add as much as you want depending on what kind of sauce consistency you want. Cream is of course better here. Then add, according to taste, some soy sauce (which also give the sauce its characteristic brown color) and salt and pepper. Instead of soy sauce, often some veal or meat stock is used and sometimes cranberry/lingonberry jam is added.
H) Mash the potatoes. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter and, depending on the potatoes, add cream/milk until the mashed potatoes is soft and even. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with lingonberry jam (the original) or the very similar cranberry jam. (The important thing is to not take on those purely sweet jams.) Sometimes people also add pickled cucumber. Enjoy!
I was very satisfied with the results and it seemed my Japanese friends also did, so it was a great time and as IKEA hasn't reached Hokkaido maybe one could see it as a little bit of preparing the road. ^_

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