About this episode

Liz shares her perspective on the life-affirming sounds of Kawaramachi and their connection to her experiences in Mexico City.

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 why the bustle of Kawaramachi reminds her of what she loved most about Mexico City. From the clatter of shop shutters opening in the morning to the traditional fire prevention night-watch echoing through modern streets, Liz shows us how sound shapes our sense of home in unexpected ways. Thank you to Liz for sharing her story and providing a few of her own field recordings of Kawaramachi for this episode. Find more about my sound walks at ⁠ kyotoinsound.com⁠ , with behind-the-scenes moments shared over on ⁠ Substack⁠ .

People in this episode

Host: SJF

Guest: Liz

Topics covered

• sound
• urban life
• cultural identity
• home
• field recordings

Keywords

• Kawaramachi
• life-affirming sounds
• urban noise
• cultural sounds
• field recordings

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kawaramachi, Mexico City, California, England, Kyoto

More episodes of The Kyoto, in Sound Podcast

• The Voice of the Commuter Trains: A morning spent at Umekōji Park | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 07 · February 20, 2026 · 9 min
• Shaking the dust off: New Year at a Kyoto temple | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 06 · January 11, 2026 · 8 min
• Finding calm in the noise of Kyoto | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 05 · December 14, 2025 · 7 min
• E04 • Nature's Prayer · November 13, 2025 · 8 min
• E02 • The Sounds of Autumn · September 11, 2025 · 10 min
• E01 • Suzaku Garden · August 11, 2025 · 9 min

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