Melody Roads - Streets that play music in Japan

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In Japan there are streets, highways or roads that play a song as the car passes by. These roads are called “Melody Roads” [メロディーロード] and in this article we are going to talk about these streets that play music in Japan.

The songs are played as the car passes through an avenue with grooves in the floor, all without the use of technology. These grooves implanted in the asphalt cause vibrations with the tires that, in fact, make the sound of music.

These musical streets are found not only in Japan, but in Denmark, South Korea, the United States, Mexico, China and San Marino. I want to take advantage of the momentum of the article to list where you can also find these highways in another country.

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How did the streets that play music come about?

The first musical road was made in Denmark, specifically in Gylling in the year 1995. It was made by 2 Danish artists who gave the name Asphaltophone, the music played in this section is an arpeggio in the key of F Major.

In Japan, Shizuo Shinoda accidentally scratched some markings on a road with his tractor, and realized that it was possible to create music depending on the depth and spacing of the grooves.

In 2007, the Hokkaido National Institute of Industrial Research, which had previously worked on a system using infrared and lights to detect dangerous roads, created Melody Road using Shizuo Shinoda's discovery.

Asphalt depth is 3mm-6mm paving on road surface, width is 6mm to 24mm. It is recommended to walk at a speed of 40km to hear the music well, its speed will depend on your speed. A blogger also recommends driving along these glass-enclosed roads, to hear the music better.

Where to find melody roads?

In Japan there are many Melody Roads, only in Gunma there are 6. Let's see in this table below:

Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>

Province	City	Year	stretch (mt)	Melody
Hokkaido	Shibetsu	2004	565m	Shiretoko Ryojo
Hokkaido	Hokuto Murayama	2015	250m	Akatonbo, red dragonfly
Hokkaido	Hokuto Murayama	2015	317m	Īmondanafurusatoha
Hokkaido	Shibetsu	2010	700m	Musical road test
fukushima	Onuma-gun Kanayama-cho	2014	278m	country road
nagano	chino	2008	210m	Scarborough Fair
aichi	Toyota	2007	301m	Dongurikorokoro
Shiga	Otsu	2009	610m	Biwako shūkō no uta
Wakayama	Kimino-cho	2007	320m	Miagetegoran'yorunohoshiwo
Okinawa	nago	2012	340m	Futami Jowa
Hiroshima	sera-cho	2009	513m	Totoro in Sanpo
gunma	kusatsu		300m	Kusatsu Onsen
gunma	Tsumagoi	2010		Snowy Mountain Song of Praise
gunma	Takasaki, Lake Haruna	2008	280m	Quiet Lake
gunma	Maebashi	2010		tulip
gunma	Numata			Shirasawa
Hiroshima	akitakata	2014	270m	Excerpt from Kagura-demon
Ishikawa	Nanao – Anamizu	2015	1200m	Maresora ~ rare Zola ~
octa	Taketa	2007		Kojo no Tsuki
Ehime	ikata	2011	430m	Mikan'no Hanasa Kuoka

The streets that play music around the world

There are many other Melody Roads around the world. In 2019 Hungary had its first musical road in memory of the death of Cipő (vocalist of the band Republic) on Road 67.

In Anyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea, Singing Road was designed to help drivers stay alert and awake, as 68% of traffic accidents in South Korea are caused by inattentive and asleep drivers.

In the netherlands a music track was removed because drivers did not pass at the proper and recommended speed causing the music to play in a bad key, disturbing the whole neighborhood which ended the songs on the road.

The same happened in the US on Avenue K in Lancaster, California. It seems that only the Japanese know how to appreciate classical music being played by car tires. How were these two countries overcome by neighborhood sickness?

Videos of streets playing music

Finally, let's leave some videos showing the musical roads. I hope you enjoyed the article, if you liked it share and leave your comments. Have you ever had the chance to pass on one of these roads? I already passed Gunma.

The first video shows how roads make sound with different vehicles including bicycles, rollerblades and wheelchairs. The other videos show some roads spread across Japan.