The Voice of the Commuter Trains: A morning spent at Umekōji Park | Kyoto, in Sound • Episode 07

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.