Tokyo’s Soundscapes: From Pachinko Parlours to Train Melodies
Nick Luscombe, a BBC broadcaster and founder of Mscty Studio, explores Tokyo’s layered soundscape in a Monocle article. He describes recording sounds in the late 1990s with a minidisc player, from chaotic pachinko parlours to the iconic FamilyMart jingle. Tokyo Metro stations feature departure melodies composed by musicians like Minoru Mukaiya, who wrote over 170 pieces. In quieter areas like Kagurazaka and Koenji, sounds of temple bells, coffee grinders, and tofu makers blend. Luscombe notes changes over 25 years: the disappearance of garakei flip phones and the rise of rolling suitcases from tourism. His work emphasizes that well-designed urban sound improves well-being.
Key facts
- Nick Luscombe is a BBC Radio broadcaster and sound artist based in London and Tokyo.
- He founded Mscty Studio in 2010.
- He first visited Tokyo in the late 1990s and recorded sounds with a minidisc player.
- FamilyMart's jingle is one of Japan's most recognized pieces of functional music.
- Minoru Mukaiya composed over 170 train departure melodies for Tokyo Metro.
- Mukaiya was keyboardist for jazz-fusion band Casiopea.
- Tokyo's population is about 14 million.
- Garakei flip phones with physical buttons have largely disappeared, replaced by smartphones.
- Rolling suitcases are now a common sound in areas like Asakusa and Nakameguro.
Entities
Artists
- Nick Luscombe
- Minoru Mukaiya
Institutions
- BBC Radio
- Monocle Radio
- Mscty Studio
- Tokyo Metro
- FamilyMart
- Casiopea
Locations
- Tokyo
- London
- Oslo
- Singapore
- Beijing
- Kagurazaka
- Koenji
- Shibuya
- Asakusa
- Nakameguro
Sources
- Monocle —