Design of sound environment of urban shopping arcades is important for promotion of a lively atmosphere and better speech/sound transmission. In this study sound environments in arcades of two cities were surveyed for 1) sound levels and audible distances of sounds from loudspeakers, 2) time of day variation of the sound environment with regard to sound levels and types of audible sounds, and 3) reverberation characteristics. The results were: 1) loudspeakers were widely used and sometimes set toward the street; 2) LAeq values in the arcades were around 70dB in the daytime; 3) The reverberation times were around 1.5 seconds at 500 Hz when stores opened.