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 at kyotoinsound.com, with behind-the-scenes moments shared over on Substack.

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' voices rise and fall in meditation, something remarkable happens: the crows and birds in the temple grounds begin calling out in response, weaving their own prayer into the chanting.

Unlike Kiyomizu-dera or Fushimi Inari, Shinnyo-do doesn't appear in guidebooks. It's a local temple—quiet, intimate, and without crowds. A place where you can simply be, and listen.

Thank you to Kacchan for sharing her story and guiding me through this beautiful place.

Find more about my sound walks at kyotoinsound.com, with behind-the-scenes moments shared over on Substack.

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.