Scroll down to download & listen to the soundscape of Shibuya Crossing!

When we meet people and they ask me what is your favorite country in the world? I will always say Japan!! Of course, the next question is to 99.9 % why?

That is my favorite part because now I can talk for hours “why” but to give you a short version let me explain to you in a slightly different way.

Japan is like a super soft king size bed in a 5 Star Hotel. Okay, that sounds weird right but let me explain this comparison.

Since we are on the road we had situations in different countries where we felt uncomfortable or we had to take care of our equipment and it’s better not to leave the house after certain times. You have to be aware of your surroundings and be present of all time. Is it for your own safety or the equipment you carry with you. BUT if you book a flight to Japan and you put your feet on Japanese ground it’s like taking a deep breath and jumping in slow motion into a soft king size bed and you know nothing bad will happen and there is nothing to worry about anymore. You are safe now. 🙂

After traveling in our camper across Japan we finally came back to Tokyo to meet up with our friends and together we explored several restaurants and parts of this gigantic city. Could I live in Tokyo?

I don’t know yet but what I can tell you it that it can be very exhausting. Jumping from one train to another with thousands of people around you, billboards, shops, blinking lights and of course all the different sounds. All this input will mess up your brain and you get so tired. After we arrived at Shibuya it’s not getting any better.

It is the world busiest crosswalk and it is fascinating and amazing to be here, as a tourist. Living, working? Respect for everybody who does that.

I wished I had more time to record here but I wasn’t alone so I had about five minutes before we moved on to our next destination to the Asakusa shrine( I have this soundscape already recorded and published for you).

I did the crosswalk twice with several thousands of people and look at the timelapse that we took how amazing this wall of people is.

The soundscape around is incredible with all the commercials, blinking billboards, the music, the traffic and of course people talking and walking. The acoustic and the reverb that comes from the street and the buildings is so awesome that it feels like you are in a futuristic Blade Runner Movie. Besides removing the microphone rumble I didn’t do much with the file and kept it as original as possible.

For the recordings, I only used the Zoom H6 and the DPA 4060 together with the Rycote Windjammers and walked between the people. The bitrate is 96/24 for your information

It was my second time here at this place and definitely not my last time.

If you have watched the movie Hachiko with Richard Gere, the real Hachiko’s statue is right next to the entry to Shibuya Station but I forgot to take a picture!

I hope you are excited to listen to this incredible Tokyo Soundscape. You can download the sound for your project by clicking on “Download” in the media player”. The download is also free if you are new to Bandcamp. Just make sure to check out with “0” and “WAV. The sound itself is also in my “Coffee” sound library under the category “Sounds of Japan” with 103 other recordings from Japan. If you want access just hit the “Buy Me A Coffee” button.