Thank You Jon Cage For Classifying This Under Music

Everyone remotely familiar with Japanese culture has heard about the sensory overload that one can get on a daily basis, whether is be from seizure-inducing shows to TV screens that span the walls of buildings in Shibuya. Seeing photos and maybe even getting a glimpse of a video displaying these sights isn`t that hard, but they only demonstrate the immense overload of visual stimuli. What may not be so commonly known is that audio overload in Japan is just as prevelent if not more so. And even though I live in a city much smaller and therefore much quieter than Tokyo, I still can`t avoid in my own sleepy neighborhood the underlying cultural norms that allow a healthy dosage of sound to be acceptable.

I've been bugged by the level of sound that I encounter regularly in Japan since I had to put up with bike gangs at 3 A.M. and the resulting low speed chases by the local police. Needless to say, the police sirens had an adverse effect in reducing the sound level. A couple of weeks ago, I was recently reminded of this distaste when I went shoe shopping. In every store in Japan, the staff are trained to say the Japanese equivalent of "Welcome!" in a pretty lively voice. I'm pretty certain it's a way to show their energy and enthusiasm for the product they're selling. However, here the staff were saying their "Welcome!" and other greetings at a level no weaker than a shout. The fact that I was standing a couple of feet away from one of these shouting clerks didn't make him lower his volume. Giving one an aggravated look elicited an apology from one, but had no discernible other results. Surrounded by shoe salesmen yelling at the top of their lungs would've been utter torture had I not had in-ear headphones to cancel most of the noise.

If anyone knows about how candidates for public office in Japan campaign, you're well aware of the vans that they ride around in all day using a loudspeaker to ask for votes. Well, back in the spring, a candidate in one of the city elections placed his campaign headquarters on the first floor of my building. So my apartment building was the epicenter of loudspeaker announcements for one campaign and was definitely on the route of a few others. Not only that, but on the night before the election my candidate neighbor and his campaign staff had a rally in the parking lot, in which there was a lot of chanting and cheering.

It's not only the campaign vans make the rounds in Japan, but there are also garbage trucks making announcements for the TVs and other large items. Then there are food trucks using a loudspeaker to advertise yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato) and other Japanese snacks. But in some ways, it's actually entertaining. Hearing that half-sung yaki-imo announcement actually made my night a couple of weeks ago.


Another yaki-imo truck parked near my local train station. Note the loudspeaker on top.

Now I don't want to come across as someone who is so sensitive to noise that I can't sleep or focus unless I have perfect silence. The list of pointless announcements thanking you for riding the train, ensuring your safety on the train, or warning you when elevator doors are about to close really does go on. I hope to record at least a few of them. I think it's just that the Japanese have a greater tolerance for noise, or at least have a lower tendency to complain overtly about things. However for me, someone who is much more likely to complain and didn't grow up in Japan, the amount of useless noise is enough to merit this and many verbal rants.