The Journal

These are my field notes on a life lived in Kyoto. I document the city through essays, audio postcards, and seasonal recordings, exploring how sound shapes our memory of a place.

A side-profile photograph of a guest taking part in a sound walk. He is standing outside Chion-in temple looking inside and recording the sounds.

What is a Sound Walk?

How to Listen to the World

Most people visit Kyoto to see it. Very few actually hear it. This is an introduction to sound walking — what it is, what the equipment does, and why a few hours of paying attention can change the way you experience a city.

A quiet residential street in Kyoto's Higashiyama neighbourhood with the mountains in the background

The Quiet Guide to Kyoto

How to Escape the Crowds and Find Stillness

The crowds are real. But the quiet is real too — you just have to know where to look, and when. A practical guide to finding stillness in Kyoto without leaving the city.

A guest on a recent sound walk recording the sound of a small river at Shimogamo Jinja, a shrine in Kyoto.

Looking for Something Unique in Kyoto?

Try Listening to It

Fushimi Inari. Kinkaku-ji. Arashiyama. The list writes itself. If you're looking for something that isn't on everyone else's itinerary, try listening to the city instead.

Autumn maple foliage at a traditional Kyoto residence — the red leaves of a Japanese acer tree

The Sounds of Kyoto

An Audio Guide to the Seasons

Kyoto sounds different in every season. The cicadas in August, the dry rustle of maple leaves in November, the temple bells on New Year's Eve. A guide to what to listen for, and when.

A sound walk guest walking through Higashiyama, East Kyoto, holding a field recorder

The Kyoto FOMO Trap

Why You Will Never See "Enough" (And Why That’s a Good Thing)

Everyone asks how many days is enough. The honest answer is: no amount of days is. This is about why that's actually fine, and why doing one thing slowly is worth more than ten things quickly.

An old DVi Tape with a piece of tape on the front where the hand-written words "An Archive of a Life" are written.

An Archive of a Life

A video letter on why we bother to record anything at all

We're so busy documenting our lives for other people that we forget to record the ordinary things. And the ordinary things are always the first to go, aren't they?

A busy pedestrian crossing on Kawaramachi street in central Kyoto

The Kyoto List

A Living Map of Creative Corners and Kind Humans

The coffee shops, record stores, galleries, and people I keep going back to. An evolving list of the places that make Kyoto feel like somewhere worth living, not just visiting.

Letters from the studio

I post video letters and sounds from Kyoto over on Substack. Hit the button below to follow along:

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