Tokyo Sound Catalog 1

Sounds You Will Not Hear in Tokyo:

• Arguments in the Street
• Catcalls
• Honking (Exception: Very occasionally, a taxi)
• Conversations between strangers (especially aboard trains.  The more crowded they are, the quieter).
• Apologies between people who have bumped into one another or otherwise violated personal space (Replaced by nods, bows, glances).
• Conversation on a crowded train
• Individuals’ music (e.g. boomboxes, loud headphones)

Sounds You Will Hear in Tokyo:

• Formalized routine sales pitches, recorded music via loudspeaker (in commercial districts)
• Loudspeakers blaring from moving trucks (in residential areas – electronics resale shops; in busy centers – right-wing hate speech)
• The rattle of passing trains
• The klaxons of train crossings
• Beeps (crosswalks, backing trucks)
• Happy chatter (only late at night, after patrons begin leaving bars and cafes)