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Omiya train station is busy pretty much any day of the week. The weekends, however, are a completely different story. Many more multitudes meander through the hallways, and I decided to stop and capture the busy sounds of the moment. There are no particular conversations or people that stick out of this session, but the general atmosphere is captured with a few voices here and there.

Download Audio: Omiya Train Station Upstairs

My wife and I visited a wonderful traditional hotel and hot springs, but for the life of me I can’t remember exactly where it was located. I’ll have to ask my wife again to find out. Anyways, our hotel was located in a very hilly region and there was a largish stream running right next to the hotel that came down from the mountain. In a park in that area, a trail goes right down next to the stream, and I had my MD with me and decided to record the sounds of the stream.

Download Audio: A stream

This is hands down my favorite recording I made in Japan. I had just purchased a new microphone at a Bic Camera (Sony ECM-MS907) and was browsing around in the food section of a Lumine department store at Omiya Station. Back in the meat section, the workers were cutting the fish and various other meats while “greeting” the customers with phrases like ‘welcome to the store’, ‘please buy lots of fish’, etc. If you are thinking about timid Japanese people quietly speaking a greeting, think again. These guys weren’t just saying ‘welcome to the store’, they were outright screaming it. You could hardly hear youself think in there for all the shouting. But it did make for a memorable experience.

Download Audio: Lumine Food Section

One of the most serene places I visited in Japan was Engakuji (yup, more temples). The grounds gradually slope up a hillside, and the top area is surrounded by tall tress on three sides. But just like photography, recording memorable sounds is not always as simple as pushing record. While I was at the highest point of Engakuji, my recording session was overtaken first by loud construction, and when that finally abated, by a group of loud dogs. It especially irked me because no later than 15 seconds after the construction crew stopped to take a break, the dogs chimed in with their yelping. Despite all the interference some sort of bird was singing a cheerful melody and you can still grasp a bit of the feeling of the area despite all the unwanted noise.

Download Audio: Noisy Engakuji

This next recording from my trip to Japan was recorded at the Buddhist temple at Asakusa (pictures, info). This is a large tourist attraction, and when I went was bustling with people. This particular recording was taken at the front part of the temple, and in it you hear people throwing coins into the osaisen, and also shaking the omikuji.

Download Audio: Temple at Asakusa