The Kyoto, in Sound Podcast

I asked my friend Ash what his favourite sound was, and he didn't really need to think about it. "The sound of Ryoko doing one of her arrangements," he said. Ryoko is his wife. She runs flower arranging classes here in Kyoto, under the name HanaYou. So we spent a morning together. We started at Rokkaku-do, the supposed birthplace of Ikebana, then walked over to Hanamasa, her favourit...

In this episode, I return to Umekōji Park, stepping just outside the walls of Suzaku Garden (from episode one of the podcast) to explore the busier, living side of the park. I’m joined by my friend Charles and his dog Lily, as we sit by the tracks to listen to a sound most people usually try to block out: the local commuter trains. We talk about the rhythmic “clack-clack” of the old community line...

For the first episode of the New Year, I turn the microphone around to share one of my own favourite sounds: the Joya no Kane bell. Recorded at Tanjoji temple in Fushimi-ku, this episode explores the ritual of ringing the temple bell 108 times to banish our worldly desires ( bonnō ). I also take a winter walk from the stark beauty of Jojakko-ji to the sacred halls of Shoren-in, exploring how the s...

A few weeks ago I went to Osawa Pond—the oldest garden pond in Japan—looking for silence and tranquility. Instead, I found a gardener with a wood chipper and a construction crew with wooden mallets. In this episode of Kyoto, in Sound , I explore what happens when the sanctuary you're seeking turns out to be a construction site. It's a sonic letter to a busy friend. Find more about my sound walks a...

On a drizzly October morning at Shinnyo-do temple in North-East Kyoto, I meet Kacchan—a respected Buddha sculptor who has worked with some of the city's most important temples. But today, she's brought me to her local temple, a place she's known since childhood. We arrive on the one day each year when the Amitabha Sutra Association performs the secret Inzei Amida Sutra. As the monks&#3...

In downtown Kawaramachi, surrounded by high-rise buildings and constant traffic, most people seek escape from the noise. But Liz chose to live here deliberately. In this episode, I speak with Liz, originally from England, who lived in Mexico and California before making Kyoto her home. She tells me about "life-affirming sounds"—the difference between human sound and machine noise, and wh...

The Takase River winds quietly through central Kyoto, where the city’s noise meets the voices of insects and flowing water. In this episode, I walk with Chie, a Kyoto-based illustrator, who tells me why the sounds of autumn are her favourite. For her, the shift from cicadas to crickets reminds her of a Japanese phrase 静と動, stillness and movement, and the balance between energy and reflection. A...

It's only a short walk from Kyoto Station, but Suzaku garden feels like a world away from the bustle of the city's busiest train station. For this first episode of Kyoto, in Sound, I spoke to Rumi, who grew up in Tokyo and now lives in Kyoto, about her favourite sound in Kyoto and she takes me back to her childhood summers spent in Suzaku garden with her grandmother. Through field recordings and s...