Minoru Mukaiya – The Man Who Composed Over 111 Jingles For Train Stations In Tokyo!

In Tokyo, there are no Ding Dongs but one person who has composed over 111 different jingles for train stations, each with another topic!

Everything is a bit different in Tokyo than in the other cities. If you have already been there, you noticed surely that on train stations complete songs / jingles are played when a train arrives. The person behind these compositions was recently announced in a short reportage on YouTube.

Behind these jingles is the Japanese music producer Minoru Mukaiya who composed the music for more than 111 train stations. In order to give each station its own flair and not to appear monotonous, he developed a specific theme for each station on which he wrote the melody. For this he looked closely at how the train enters the station or whether it is located in a historical or modern area of Tokyo.

For older parts of the city, for example, he used old Japanese instruments, for newer ones keyboards and Synthesizers. In addition to the story you also get a brief insight into the studio of Minoru Mukaiya. Here you can find older FM Synthesizer but also large modern workstations. Naturally only from Japanese companies like Roland or Yamaha.

A short but very entertaining documentary that show how different the culture in Tokyo is compared to European cities. Highly recommend you to watch this 3:36 minute video.

While most train stations alert passengers with basic dings and dongs, metro riders in Japan are treated to uniquely crafted melodies. Minoru Mukaiya is the mastermind behind these jingles—he’s made around 200 distinct chimes for over 110 stations. For Minoru, there’s no greater joy than bringing a little bit of music to millions across Japan every day.

More information here: Great Big Story