Sonic Japan: Sounds of safety

In the picture below, we find some examples of "sound management" on the shinkansen: this picture depicts the information given to all passengers when they sit down in their seats. In front of them they will immediately see the rules and regulations of riding the shinkansen.>>

The super fast shinkansen bullet train network, which can take you from Tokyo to Osaka in a little over three hours, is a famous and ubiquitous image of modern Japanese technological ingenuity. The shinkansen bullet trains were first developed in the 1960s, with the first trunk line opening along the Tokaido (a major land-route connecting Osaka to Nagoya and then Tokyo) in 1964.>>

The Shinjuku Station Complex is one of the largest train stations in the world. In 2007, 3.>>

While many train lines track across the greater Tokyo landscape, no train is more iconic than the silver and light green Yamanote-sen (line).  Owned by Japan Railways (JR) and managed by JR Higashi Nihon, the Yamanote is one of the major inner city 'loops' that circles central Tokyo.>>

This brief recording documents one winter public service practice of many Japanese urban communities: Hi no Yōjin, or 'Beware of Fire'.  During the winter, members of a chōnaikai, the local neighbourhood association, walk through the streets carrying small wooden sticks which they smack together periodically to draw the attention of the local residents.>>