Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 03
The third episode of a new podcast series which asks the people who live in this city to talk about their favourite sounds.
On the last episode of Kyoto, in Sound we walked along the Takase River with Chie, listening to how autumn’s arrival changed the voices of the insects. The overwhelming energy of summer quietening to the reflective and peaceful autumn evenings.
For this third episode, we’re in downtown Kawaramachi with Liz, a friend from England who has called Mexico, California, and now Kyoto home. In this episode I’m chatting with Liz about why she deliberately chose to live in one of Kyoto’s busiest districts.
Sound versus Noise
Liz explains how living in Mexico transformed her relationship with sound. The street vendors, music from performers, jingles from service vans, and constant chatter of neighbours created a soundscape that felt joyous and alive. She remarks that it was the sound of community and life being lived, rather than noise-pollution.
Before Mexico, she spent some time in Irvine, California—a place she describes as silenced. The only sounds were lawn mowers and leaf blowers interrupting the eerie quiet. What some might consider peaceful became deeply isolating for her.
As we find out in this episode, sound can shape our experience of place in profound ways. What we consider noise versus music depends on our personal histories and what makes us feel at home.
This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Fountain.fm.
If you’d like to follow along for future episodes — or if you’re visiting Kyoto and would like to join one of my guided sound walks — you’ll find everything at www.kyotoinsound.com.
If this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. What sounds make you feel at home? Please reply by email.
Thank you, as always, for noticing with me.
🍃 SJF
p.s. thank you so much to Liz for sharing a few of her own field recordings of Kawaramachi for this episode.
Thank you for reading. If something here struck a chord, reply by email — I read every one, and it's the closest this little site has to a comments section. You can also follow along by RSS.