https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog Short essays on Danish life, seen sideways by a Japanese researcher living in Aarhus. en Sat, 12 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-32 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-32 Sat, 12 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000 Summer in Denmark is a bit different from other countries, such as Japan and the United States. The weather is not as hot as in those countries, but it can be quite humid. The sun shines brightly, and the days are long, with the sun setting around 10 pm. It's perfect summer here. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-31 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-31 Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000 If you ask Danes which country they perceive as a rival, they likely answer Sweden. This comes from historical roots, as expected like many other countries (e.g., Japan and Korea). https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-30 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-30 Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0000 It could be a charm or embarrassment when someone pointed out to you that one of your socks had a hole. It's just a hole. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-29 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-29 Fri, 01 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000 Danish stylishness and sophistication with climate-friendly lifestyle, as we imagine them as a sort of stereotype (think of Greta Thunberg as a Swedish climate activist), are half-truths. If you visit here, it may still be the whole truth of the country. But, this country, or probably any... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-28 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-28 Sun, 07 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000 This new year starts with the mighty of nature, such as earthquakes and snowstorms. I talked to my parents in Tokyo on New Year's Day, not knowing the big earthquake occurred in the westcoast of the country. My mom casually mentioned when she was feeding fish, the water in the fish tank started... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-27 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-27 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000 Having lived in different cultures, I've noticed how people celebrate Christmas and New Year's is different. Of course, the differences largely come from history. For example, while Denmark is a protestant country, Japan is not a Christian country (Shintoism and Buddhism are mixedly dominant).... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-26 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-26 Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000 The beauty of Danish nature is probably not as famous as neighboring Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden and Norway. In particular, Norway seems a more popular destination for hiking and mountain climbing than here. This is simply because Denmark is flat as a pancake. Nonetheless, Denmark... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-25 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-25 Sun, 28 May 2023 12:00:00 +0000 One day, Christian, my friend and colleague, stopped by my office and told me about this unique Disney show only available in DR (Danish public radio and TV broadcasting company) when I gave him a pack of candies. Given the history of Disney where Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli (Danish... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-24 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-24 Thu, 18 May 2023 12:00:00 +0000 Last holiday, it's not about the movie starring Queen Latifah. It's about Store Bededag on May 5, 2023. This public holiday was based on the Christian tradition of celebrating. Yes, it was until this year. So, it was literally the last holiday. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-23 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-23 Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0000 Danish flag. Ah, is it a red flag? No no no, it's a symbol of happy birthday for friends, colleagues, or whoever in Denmark, although it's used for other purposes too. If you're not living in Denmark, your eyebrows probably may go up. It sounds very strange to some of you, especially if national... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-22 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-22 Mon, 20 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0000 In the TV series "the Bridge" (Broen in Danish), Swedish lead homicide detective Saga Norén sometimes pops snus into her mouth when she drives her Porsche 911, or she takes off from her desk. At least, this image of her taking snus got stuck in my mind as I saw the TV show. For some readers,... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-21 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-21 Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0000 Danish Carnival. That is Fastelavn. Many Danes also describe it as a festival for children. This is because it includes trick-or-treating, like Halloween. Although I didn't get any visitors, it seems very common for children to knock on your door on the day of Fastelavn, Sunday the 19th of this... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-20 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-20 Sat, 21 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000 A rainy day tourists walk through bridges waterways connect us https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-19 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-19 Sat, 14 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000 Godt nytår! Christmas and New Year. Probably the biggest festive season in Denmark just finished. Perhaps some people were tired because of all the family dramas that they wished to press an "unsubscribe" button. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-18 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-18 Sat, 17 Dec 2022 12:00:00 +0000 For a month, I visited Colombia. A colorful country, not a university (mind the spelling). Tropical jungle. Tropical birds. Tropical fruits. Beautiful girls. Infamous corruption. Drugs. Gangs. Etc. Etc. Many things make the country colorful. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-17 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-17 Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0000 November 4th was this year's J-Day. What is J-Day? It's Christmas beer day (Juleøl dag) when Tuborg Julebryg is available at 8:59 pm. This annual festive day takes place on the first Friday of November. According to my friends, this is allegedly the night most Danes go out. It seems so to me. A... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-16 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-16 Mon, 31 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Stegt flæsk med persillesovs is Danish national dish according to this 2014 Danish article. It is basically fried pork belly with potatoes and parsley sauce (persillesovs). Very unhealthy. Yet, tasty. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-15 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-15 Wed, 12 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000 I find it fascinating to cross national borders. I grew up in a country where border crossings always took place at airports. Even though seaports can be, I've never traveled by boat from Japan to another country. Accordingly, for me, the border crossing was equal to airport passport control for... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-14 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-14 Fri, 30 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000 New school year. My childhood memories of the start day of a new academic year are related to either a rainy day or a cherry blossom day. This is because the new academic year starts at the beginning of April in Japan. Spring. Starts. The Time of New life. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-13 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-13 Mon, 04 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Life is not always happy. Particularly, yesterday was one of the sad days in Denmark. If you pay attention to the news, you may have heard about the shooting at the shopping mall in Copenhagen. A thing like that happens even in this very safe country. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-12 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-12 Fri, 24 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0000 What would be a good predictor of Danish people being outside? Sun. Danes are more so than any other people in my opinion or maybe Scandinavians in general. This is true compared to Japanese and American. At any rate, their obsession with the sun is quite stunning in Denmark. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-11 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-11 Sat, 04 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Time flies. I've been living in Aarhus for a year by now since I left Chicago on June 1, 2021, and arrived here on June 2. Outside noises and daylight at 11 pm remind me of this season—long Scandinavian summer. Young folks sing along and drink together in outside gardens. Many use parking lots... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-10 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-10 Thu, 02 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Denmark is a flat country. I triple-mean it by flat. One is geographical, another is emotional, and the last is societal. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-9 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-9 Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Kapsejladsen—can be translated to the regatta or boat race in English—is an annual relay race event in the first week of May at Aarhus University. If you imagine a college rowing regatta at the Cambridges (I mean both the UK and US), you need to wipe out your image. Kapsejladsen is something... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-8 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-8 Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Yes, I'm talking about—the thing generally considered as—an illegal act of pedestrians crossing the street in disregard of traffic rules (e.g., signals and intersections). How come? It is because I observed that Aarhus people are generally less likely to commit jaywalking than people in other... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-7 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-7 Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 +0000 In mid-April, I attended a wedding of my friends in Denmark. This was the first wedding I attended since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Because of the pandemic, a few weddings I was invited were eventually canceled or replaced with Zoom receptions. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-6 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-6 Wed, 20 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0000 God Påske! Past few weeks, I had some conversations with friends about cultural and personal differences in scheduling and planning. A Colombian friend of mine is, for instance, notoriously spontaneous and operates in a different time perspective from me. Suppose that you meet up with a couple... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-5 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-5 Sun, 20 Feb 2022 12:00:00 +0000 Uge 7. If you don't live in Denmark, you probably have no idea of what "Week 7" means at all. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was the same. But I know what Week 7 means now. Winter vacation. https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-4 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-4 Tue, 18 Jan 2022 12:00:00 +0000 One word card is Denmark. Another is Japan. If you're playing Codenames and these cards are your team's, which one-word clue would you give to your teammates to make a connection between the two words? Note that you couldn't use "country," "nation," "flag," "drinking," or "seafood" because these... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-3 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-3 Tue, 23 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000 It seems interesting that every country I've lived in so far has different things that come and don't come with apartments. I mean, I'm talking about apartment stuff, such as appliances, when I rent apartments. A major struggle I've had in Denmark is ceiling lights, which don't come with my... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-2 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-2 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0000 These days, cell phones (or called mobile phones in your country) are essential for our life. Obviously, I'm feeling some symptoms of nomophobia - the fear of not having a cell phone. Indeed, I'm constantly checking emails, news, weather, YouTube, and Instagram of celebrities and corgi butts on... https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-1 https://kyosuketanaka.com/blog#day-1 Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000 This is a moment of every year that all the cyclists are excited and watch TV instead of cycling. Tour de France. It's an annual bicycle race in France, including 21 different stages over the course of 23 days. It's notoriously challenging. And, the leader of the race wears a yellow jersey.