Japan’s 100 soundscapes (100 natural sounds from Japan): a journey through listening

Japan is not only discovered by the eyes or the palace, but also by the ear with the 100 soundscapes of Japan. In 1996, the Japanese Ministry of Environment selected 100 iconic sounds throughout the country. This project aims to preserve traditional acoustic environments, threatened by noise pollution, and to encourage the rediscovery of the link between environment, local culture and sound identity.

An initiative to protect Japan’s acoustic identity

The “100 soundscapes of Japan” were born from a double observation: an environmental one, faced with the gradual disappearance of natural sounds in urban areas, and a cultural one, faced with the erosion of sensory markers specific to the regions. Of the 738 proposals submitted by citizens and local authorities, 100 were selected by a group of experts.

These sounds are not mere recordings: they are lived, recorded in a place, a season, a ritual or a local activity. They are sometimes ephemeral, like temple bells in the New Year, or seasonal, like cicada singing in summer. Each sound thus becomes the symbol of a territory and collective memory.

List and Interactive Map of 100 Sound Landscapes

No.	Name of soundscape	Location	Category
1	Dirty ice of Okhotsk Sea	Okhotsk Sea Coast, Hokkaidō	Sea
2	Clock Tower Bell	Sapporo, Hokkaidō	Bell
3	Bell of the Russian Orthodox Church of Hakodate	Hakodate, Hokkaidō
4	Asahi Mountain Wildlife (Daisetsuzan)	Higashikawa, Hokkaidō	Composite fauna
5	Cranes of the Shrine of Tsurui	Tsurui, Hokkaidō	Birds
6	Gulls of the port of Hachinohe and Kabushima	Hachinoh, Aomori	Birds
7	Wild birds on the shores of Lake Ogawara	Misawa, Aomori
8	Oirase Creek	Towada, Aomori	Continental waters
9	Nebuta and Neputa Festivals	Aomori, Hirosaki (Aomori)	Festival
10	Rocks thundering from the Goishi coast	Funato, Iwate	Sea
11	Carillons Nanbu at Mizusawa station	Iwate	Daily life
12	Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival Bells	Takizawa, Iwate	Festival
13	Miyagino Grills	Sendai, Miyagi	Insects
14	River Hirose : grooves and birds	Miyagi	Composite fauna
15	Reeds at the mouth of the Kitakami River	Ishinomaki, Miyagi	Plants
16	Wild geese of Izunuma and Uchinuma	Kurihara and Tome, Miyagi	Birds
17	Wind pine forest	Noshiro, Akita	Plants
18	Cigales of Yamadera	Yamagata	Insects
19	Conque de Matsunokanjin	Tsuruoka, Yamagata	Festival
20	Swans of the Mogami River	Sakata, Yamagata	Birds
21	Small bird forest	Fukushima
22	Irrigation system in	Shimogō, Fukushima	Continental waters
23	Karamushi loom	Shōwa, Fukushima	Industry / Transport
24	Waves of the coast of Itsuura	Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki	Sea
25	Rainettes from the hill to the hortensias	Tochigi	Frog
26	Suikinkutsu musical fountain	Takasaki, Gunma	Daily life
27	Kawagoe Bell	Kawagoe, Saitama	Bell
28	Songs of insects in Oshikiri	Kumagaya, Saitama	Insects
29	Hibashi water drop	Katori, Chiba	Continental waters
30	Himeharu Cigales in Mamenbara	Taki, Chiba	Insects
31	Shibamata district and Yagiri crossing	Matsudo (Chiba) / Katsushika (Tokyo)	Composites
32	Mount Ueno Bell	Taitō, Tokyo	Bell
33	Lake Sanpōji sounds: birds, water and trees	Nerima, Tokyo	Composites
34	zelkova drive from Seikei campus	Musashino, Tokyo	Plants
35	Mermaids of New Year’s ships	Yokohama, Kanagawa	Industry / Transport
36	Kawasakidaishi driveway	Kawasaki, Kanagawa
37	Dōbōgawa Park Creek and Birds	Sagamihara, Kanagawa	Composites
38	Lake Saiko Bird Forest	Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi	Birds
39	Zenkō-ji Bell	Nagano	Bell
40	Song of birds in Enrei	Okaya, Shiojiri (Nagano)	Birds
41	Yashima frog songs	Suwa, Nagano	Frog
42	Geese in Fukushimagata	Niigata	Birds
43	Himeharu Cigales in Oyama	Itoigawa, Niigata	Insects
44	Waves and creatures of the sea of Enshū	Enshū-nada, Shizuoka	Sea
45	Steam train from the	Kawanehon, Shizuoka	Industry / Transport
46	Birds of Higashiyama Botanical Garden	Nagoya, Aichi	Birds
47	Koijigahama Beach Waves	Tahara, Aichi	Sea
48	Drifts of divers of Ise-Shima	Toba, Shima, Mia	Industry / Transport
49	Udatsu musical fountain	Minō, Gifu	Daily life
50	Children’s Games in the Yoshida River	Gujō, Gifu
51	Cormorant fishing on the Nagara River	Gifu and Seki, Gifu
52	Shōmyō Falls	Tateyama, Toyama	Continental waters
53	Water sounds in En	Toyama, Toyama	Composites
54	Sound of wood sculpture in Inami	Nanto, Toyama	Industry / Transport
55	Cigales to Honda no Mori	Kanazawa, Ishikawa	Insects
56	Cloche des temples du quartier Teramachi	Ishikawa	Bell
57	Tokimizu water in Minowaki	Echizen, Fukui	Continental waters
58	Mitsui evening bell	Tsu, Shiga	Bell
59	Cloche et chants d’insectes du château de Hikone	Hikone, Shiga	Composites
60	Kyō Bamboo Forest	Kyōto	Plants
61	Ruri Valley Creek	Nantan, Kyōto	Continental waters
62	Songing sands of Kotohiki beach	Kyōtango, Kyōto	Sea
63	Matsumushi on the banks of Yodogawa	Osaka	Insects
64	Ondō from Kawachi to Jōkōji Temple	Yao, Osaka	Festival
65	Sander fishing at the port of Tarumi	Kōbe, Hyōgo	Industry / Transport
66	Nadano Kenka festival drums	Himeji, Hyōgo	Festival
67	Daimeshi and temple bells in Kasugano	Nara	Composites
68	Kinokawa River and Fudōsan Rocks	Hashimoto, Wakayama
69	Nachi’s fall	Nachi-Katsuura, Wakayama	Continental waters
70	Migratory Birds of Mizudori Park	Yonago, Tottori	Birds
71	Santokugawa Creek and Kajika Frogs	Misasa, Tottori	Composites
72	Fabrication of washi paper	Tottori	Industry / Transport
73	Songing sands of Kotogahama beach	Shimane	Sea
74	Bitchūgawa Creek and Water Mill	Maniwa, Okama	Composites
75	Streams of Shinjō-juku village	Shinjō, Okama	Continental waters
76	Hiroshima Peace Bell	Hiroshima	Bell
77	Senkō-ji Temple Bell	Onomichi, Hiroshima
78	Yamaguchi steam train	Yamaguchi / Tsuwano	Industry / Transport
79	Naruto Towers	Naruto, Tokushima	Sea
80	Awa Odori	Tokushima and surroundings	Festival
81	Cloche of the temple and pilgrims’ bells	Sanuki, Kagawa	Daily life / Composite
82	Mannō reservoir discharge	Mannō, Kagawa	Composites
83	Drums from Dōgo Onsen	Matsuyama, Ehime	Daily life
84	Waves of the Mikuriyadō Cave	Muroto, Kōchi	Sea
85	Songs from the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival	Fukuoka	Festival
86	Cloche du temple Kanzeon-ji	Dazaifu, Fukuoka	Bell
87	Kanmon Strait Waves and Sirens	Kitakyūshū (Fukuoka) / Shimonoseki (Yamaguchi)	Composites
88	Music from the Karatsu Kunchi Festival	Karatsu, Saga	Festival
89	Sounds of Imari pottery	Imari, Saga	Industry / Transport
90	Camphirier bombed from Sannō shrine	Nagasaki	Composites
91	Overflow of Tsūjun Bridge	Yamato, Kumamoto	Continental waters
92	Dolphins of the sea of Goshoura	Amakusa, Kumamoto	Mammals
93	Hammers of pottery of Sarayama	Hita,	Industry / Transport
94	Sparrowing of pine trees at the Okajō site	Taketa,	Plants
95	Throat of Sannomiya Gorge	Kobayashi, Miyazaki	Continental waters
96	Wild deer of the Ebino plateau	Ebino, Miyazaki	Mammals
97	Cranes	Izumi, Kagoshima	Birds
98	Sentō River Creeks and Small Train	Yakushima, Kagoshima	Composites
99	Goryō River Subtropical Forest Fauna	Taketomi, Okinawa	Composite fauna
100	Eisa	Uruma, Okinawa	Festival

Listen to Japan’s 100 soundscapes

Sound diversity in the image of the territory

From the banks of Hokkaidō to the subtropical forests of Okinawa, the list offers a complete panorama of the typical Japanese atmospheres. Some sounds come from natural elements: waves scorching on the rocks, waterfalls in the mountains, wind in the pines, or birds singing by the lakes. Others are related to human activities: matsuri festivals, crafts, agriculture, or regional transport such as steam trains.

There are also religious or spiritual sounds, such as bells of Buddhist temples, suikinkutsu (underground water instruments in Japanese gardens), or Shinto rituals related to rice harvesting. This variety reflects the richness of the sound environments that can be experienced throughout the country.

Sounds rooted in everyday life and seasons

One of the strengths of the project is to link sounds to specific temporalities. Summer is manifested by the buzzing of cicadas in Yamadera or the singing of frogs in Suwa. In winter, the ice is heard to split into the sea of Okhotsk. Spring is marked by runoff of rivers or birds that inhabit shrines, while in autumn, dead leaves scream under the footsteps in ancient forests.

Some sounds accompany agricultural or artisanal activities such as making Japanese paper (washi) in Tottori, weaving fabrics in Fukushima or the regular beat of mallets in Onta Sarayama. Others accompany collective rituals: the drums of the Kenka Matsuri in Himeji, the songs of the Awa Odori in Tokushima, or the temple bells of Kanazawa.

How to integrate these 100 soundscapes into a travel itinerary

For the traveller, these soundscapes offer an alternative way to travel Japan. Some sounds are accessible in the middle of the city, such as the bells of the Sapporo clock tower, others require an excursion: watching cranes in the lakes of Izumi, listening to the waterfalls of Nachi or suikinkutsu in the gardens of Mino.

It is possible to organize courses around these sounds, depending on the seasons or regions. For example, a winter route to Hokkaidō would allow to listen to the sounds of the pack ice and the shouts of the cranes of the Tsurui sanctuary. A summer circuit in Kansai would offer the cicadas of Kyoto, the song of the rivers in the mountains or the sounds of the matsuri.

Some sites, such as the Sengukan Museum in Ise or the Suikintei Gardens in Gunma, also provide insight into the history or technique associated with sound. These experiences enrich the visit by adding a sensory dimension often overlooked.

Preserving the invisible: a memory in danger

The project is not limited to a list. It encourages a kind of attention, a listening posture. In a Japan where visual landscapes change rapidly, soundscapes become stable, intimate, and often verbally transmitted landmarks. By identifying them, the ministry wanted to create acoustic awareness, raise awareness and protect environments at the source.

The periodic renewal of national assemblies for the conservation of soundscapes (such as the one held in Matsuyama in 2002) demonstrates the desire to sustain this approach. It is sometimes integrated into rural revitalization, sustainable tourism or intergenerational transmission projects.

An invitation to listen differently to Japan

Exploring Japan’s 100 soundscapes is rediscovering a form of living heritage, discreet but deeply evocative. It’s also a way to slow down, listen, get into the rhythm of the place. Each sound reveals a facet of local culture, whether it is the link to sacred, nature, crafts or everyday.

Careful visitors will find an original gateway to a more sensitive, immersive Japan where listening becomes a tool of understanding and emotion.

In a world saturated with images and artificial sounds, these 100 sounds are an invitation to listen differently, to slow down, to pay attention to the invisible. Japan gives itself here to hear as much as to see, and every soundscape becomes an intimate, lasting and living memory.

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