Private guided sound walks · Kyoto
A composer-led walk through the city's shrines, temples and quieter streets, and a recording of the morning, made by you, to take home.
A few hours of paying attention together, with good equipment and someone who knows where to go.
Beyond the checklist
Most of Kyoto gets seen through a camera lens, from somewhere near the back of a crowd. On a sound walk, we go the other way. We step past the photo queues into the quieter city, through shrine forests, temple gardens, backstreets and riverside paths, and listen to the city instead.
Nothing's rushed, and there's no history lecture. The route changes with the season, the weather, and whatever's worth hearing that morning.
How a sound walk works
A high-fidelity field recorder and a pair of binaural microphones. I'll show you how it works in the first few minutes. No experience needed.
Slowly, through shrines, gardens and backstreets, stopping wherever something catches your ear. You point the mics, you press record, you decide what's worth keeping.
Afterwards I mix your recordings into a finished piece and send it to you once you're home.
The thing you take home
Photographs of Kyoto tend to look a lot like everyone else's. This won't.
It's a recording of that specific morning, in that specific place, with the sounds that you found, professionally mixed and sent after the walk. Close your eyes six months from now and you're back on the path.
Imagery
Your guide
I came to Kyoto from London in 2025. I've worked with sound for two decades, composing, recording, editing, but here field recording turned into a different way of being in the city. I noticed quickly that most visitors pass through with their cameras out. But underneath all of that is a city with a lot going on sonically, once you stop and pay attention.
I also write letters from Kyoto over on Substack, and make a podcast about the city's sounds.
More about meIn their words
“Sound is not normally something you take home. The recording Simon made of the sounds I'd captured is a precious keepsake — another way of travelling, another way of knowing a place.”
ElizabethShimogamo Shrine · United Kingdom
“As someone who doesn't normally seek out guided tours, I can't recommend this highly enough. The way it's left up to you to decide what sounds interest you makes it both curated and your own.”
Karu & AdrianaDemachiyanagi Shōtengai · Norway
“Simon is a really great guide: he combines the insight of a resident with all the enthusiasm of an outsider.”
Alex ERenge-ji Temple · United Kingdom
A few questions
When you're ready
Booking is free. You reserve your morning and pay on the day, in cash or by bank transfer. Nothing's taken upfront, so if your plans change, just let me know and we'll sort it out.