The Voice of the Commuter Trains: A morning spent at Umekōji Park | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 07
About this episode
The episode explores the sounds of commuter trains at Umekōji Park and discusses urban spaces in Kyoto.
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 lines and how it contrasts with the clinical, high-tech “whoosh” of the Shinkansen passing right next to them. The conversation leads us to the idea of “third spaces”—from the park itself to the rooftop garden at Kyoto Station—and how people find little gaps in the city's architecture to simply be. Find more about my sound walks over at kyotoinsound.com: http://kyotoinsound.com.
People in this episode
Host: SJF
Guest: Charles
Topics covered
- commuter trains
- soundscapes
- urban spaces
- third spaces
- Kyoto culture
Keywords
- commuter trains
- Umekōji Park
- Kyoto
- sound walks
- third spaces
- urban architecture
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Umekōji Park, Suzaku Garden, Kyoto Station, Kyoto
More episodes of The Kyoto, in Sound Podcast
- Shaking the dust off: New Year at a Kyoto temple | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 06
- Finding calm in the noise of Kyoto | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 05
- E04 • Nature's Prayer
- E03 • Life-Affirming Sounds
- E02 • The Sounds of Autumn
- E01 • Suzaku Garden
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