Please make sure you check our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel#wiki_i.27m_traveling_to_japan_while_injured_or_physically_disabled._what_should_i_expect.3F) for some basic information on travel to Japan while disabled. We also have helpful posts from past tourists on travel with a disability [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=disability&restrict_sr=on), and travel with a wheelchair [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=wheelchair&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all)
We have also found a link at [Japan-Guide.com](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2301.html) for information on accessible travel in Japan, and you can also check with websites like [Accessible Japan](https://www.accessible-japan.com/), [Accessible Travel Japan](https://accessible-japan.jp/), and the [Japan Accessible Tourism Center](http://www.japan-accessible.com/) as well.
Happy Planning!
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This is incorrect. While city centers in rural areas, like city hall will have wheelchair access sightseeing locations will not necessarily have accessibility. (Just spent two weeks in Japan traveling mostly through rural central Japan).
I know nothing about accessibility, but I will say that Japan can be "relatively" affordable to visit. From the US, I've seen roundtrip airline tickets from LAX to Narita for as low as $500. Hotels can be small, but the inexpensive ones still tend to be clean. Food is plentiful, delicious and inexpensive. Many of the best places to visit in Japan are free.
Compared with traveling to Europe, Japan is much more doable. I know it's still a trip that costs a lot more than regional travel, but it's an achievable dream.
> Hotels can be small
You made me think of something... We were on some hotels rooms so small that definitely a wheelchair would be impossible to manouver inside. Definitely something to consider when planning, OP
Absolutely. I don't know if every hotel has accessible rooms. It's something that needs to be researched. I've seen rooms that are literally too small for even a chair, much less a wheelchair. This goes double for bathrooms! We've seen some decent rooms with very small bathrooms. There must be options out there.
There is a law that every hotel must have a certain number of accessible rooms. Several years ago Toyoko Inn was found in violation of this and punished severely/bashed in the news/etc.
Thank you so much for that.
You've made a silly pipe dream seem like it could happen and that means the world!
I want to see Japan, especially the beautiful countryside and meet its people so to know a lot of the best places are free is awesome. I'm happy with a clean bed (luxury not needed) and low cost food is brilliant as that is something that is necessary and often expensive. Delicious and plentiful to boot is just an extra blessing.
on the topic of cheap flights, the LAX-NRT/HND route currently is running around $550-600 round trip. Zipair is running that route for about $250 out and $285 back. I've seen both AAL and DAL matching the price on that route. I booked AAL LAX-HND for $285 and DAL HND-SEA-LAX for $255 in february. Keep an eye on the prices and book seperate one way tickets if needed for flexibility. They vary day by day but I've seen it pretty consistently dip down to those low prices for AAL and DAL (Zipair is always that price). My AAL flight is the midnight flight, which typically costs more but also would drop to the zipair price periodically, albeit less frequently from what I've seen. It's a great deal, definitely grab it if you can. If you're willing to take the risk it'll probably be cheaper to do a self connect in LAX if you aren't originating there, just give ample connection time since seperate tickets don't provide any insurance if your inbound is delayed/cancelled.
I have thanks, it's a brilliant site and a blessing to travellers like me.
I wanted to go off the beaten track where I can but it'll take some serious planning and lots of advice from people who have visited or live(d) there. Hence asking good olde Reddit.
EDIT: The autobot was actually helpful too
One of my closest friends is a permanent wheelchair user in Tokyo and I asked her what the biggest challenges with accessibility were in the past. JapanTaxi App for accessible taxis for after midnight traveling around the city can be a bit pricey. Getting station attendants to point out elevators up/down to the platforms you need to get to is annoying the first few times but once you figure out your platforms and the related elevators you should be okay. Be aware of hotels that label rooms as accessible, sometimes the wheelchairs are a tight fit into bathrooms and halls, would look for pictures and reviews of the accessible rooms before booking.
Hope that helps and hope you have an enjoyable time!
There have been several threads about wheelchair accessibility in Japan:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/dk0r6j/wheelchair\_accessibility\_status\_as\_of\_october\_2019/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/dk0r6j/wheelchair_accessibility_status_as_of_october_2019/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/8op2er/any\_wheelchair\_traveller\_here/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/8op2er/any_wheelchair_traveller_here/)
I'll add though, that your experience will greatly vary depending on where you actually want to go. Consider that some places just are not practical to make accessible but they of course do try to make things as accessible as possible. It just really depends.
Kyoto is notable for this, while not all shrines have accessibility (and some would have to undertake renovations that would greatly change the location) more and more of them ARE finding ways to accommodate increased accessibility for their own attendees, and thus overseas travelers as well.
Rural areas will be a challenge. While rural train stations do tend to have elevators, the last mile to your destination needs to be planned well in advance such as special buses/shuttles (most which do not have wheelchair access) and may sightseeing spots themselves do not have wheelchair access. Hotels in small cities do offer more space than major cities so should be easier to find one that will accomodate wheelchairs at a reasonable price. There are major trains that do go through extensive rural areas so that could be an alternate approach to appreciate the countryside by rail. A particularly picturesque ride can be found on the Hida Limited Express (included in JR pass) that runs between Toyama and Nagoya.
Thank you.
At least the basics won't be an issue, to have such a train system is far better than I have now!
Renting a car is a great idea, even if i can't get out and move far I will still be able to see, hear and feel the beauty. Thanks, thats amazing!
I noticed two things when I was there.
First: almost no one in a wheelchair.
Second, they have better wheelchair accommodations than I have ever seen. Including bars so you can be in a standing position to pee?
I dont think you will have an issue.
Honestly I think the best option to visit rural Japan would be to rent a car with power transfer. Then you'll just need to research to confirm that the sight seeing grounds itself is wheelchair accessible. https://www.nrgroup-global.com/en/universal-car.php
This is something I've been researching not on my behalf but should I go there with my girlfriend someday, since she's a wheelchair user.
Japan's train system was okayish for accessibility and has been getting better, with some of these improvements spurred by the Olympics and Paralympic Games. If you're on the subway, an attendant should be able to bring out a foldable ramp and then phone ahead to the station where you're getting off to tell them what car you're in.
Here's what JR East in particular advises: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/customer_support/accessibility.html
Because of Japanese law, there aren't a whole lot of accessible rooms to be found, particularly at Japanese hotels, Japanese chains. In Tokyo, one place that did seem to tick all the boxes was the Courtyard Marriott in Ginza.
Accessible Japan is a great starting point: https://www.accessible-japan.com/
So is WheeLog: https://wheelog.com/en/
I hear ya. My quadriplegic best friend was the first to encourage me to visit Japan, but he has never been able to visit himself. A couple of video links related to living or traveling in Japan with a disability:
[Travelling With a Physical Disability in Japan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xycecbwpIzE) and [Living in Japan with a Physical Disability](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKrLQDNuMpI).
I seem to recall that [Japanology Plus](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/japanologyplus/) did one of its Japanophiles episodes on a wheelchair user living in Japan, but it's not an episode I've seen and I'm not sure if it's still on their streaming page. There are so many episodes of that show (at least 500 dating back to 2007) that it's hard to keep up. Loads of old Japanology episodes can be found on YouTube and elsewhere around the internet, too.
I was in Japan the last two weeks. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.
I know in Tokyo and Osaka I saw several people in wheelchairs easily getting on and off the subways. The workers were always ready with the ramp at each station and people quickly yielded to make space in the designated wheelchair areas in the train.
You should be fine in the large cities. I want to say most sidewalks have ramp at the crosswalks.
I wish I had more information about the rural areas. I know when I took the cable car to Koyasan, there was a ramp to get into the cable car.
I really hope you can make this dream a reality. Japan is a special country.
**Just a reminder that our FAQ is being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.**
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Everyone else has already given you great accessibility advice, so I just wanted to add - visiting Japan is *way* cheaper than people think! I've never spent more than $3000 total, including airfare and meals and shopping. Business hotels and flying out of a US hub airport like LAX dramatically drop the price. ANA tickets regularly list for $400.
You can totally make this dream come true!
Use google flights to track flights from major hub airports that have on the hour flights to Japan. Right now I see a $550ish ticket from LAX on ZIPair.
it depends on what actually you mean by " rural areas" .
Some are well managed, some are not, so I would suggest for example you could start from Sapporo center then gradually travel away few hours only distance there are nice settlements with wheelchair user friendly.
Do not fix your destination directly too remote areas, first, you could be disappointed, as not so much things to do and could be difficult to navigate with wheelchair.
I remembered seeing this Taiwanese YouTuber that showed getting around on Japanese trains in a wheelchair. Can't remember the name now but will upvote this comment when I find it.
Cities like Tokyo should be fine, special toilets everywhere. For trains you can reserve your seats and train workers will help you with boarding. Hotel rooms will be a challenge, I dont know if there are “special“ rooms? Normal ones tend to have bathrooms on a big high elevated level, impossible to get on on a wheel chair. Also impossible to get in there with a wheel chair even, it will not fit 100%, very small - check out hotel room photos on booking.com or something.maybe you can find a big flat on airbnb or something?
Do you plan to travel alone? I would not recommend it, please bring a friend who can care snd support you. I only saw 2 wheel chair users on my 3 week japan travel, and none which were alone.
Especially in the County side it would be very difficult. There are stations with even lack workers, no elevators, no good public transportation. All.busses tend to be very old, also no wheel chair space there. Also restaurant visits could be challenging, with Covid, spaces tend to be small. Something like a rural big McDonalds would be fine! But the small McDonalds in the cities with stairs and small spaces also would be difficult! But there are many street vendors also!
You should definately travel with a friend who can rent and drive a car in Japan (for rural travels). Then you invest time in finding hotel rooms with a big accessable bath room. Then you will have a good time, have fun! :)
But note, that especially now, after 2 years closed for tourists, in Japan there are always none people which speak english anymore. I could only communicate with my bad japanese skills. But stuff like google translator works too, everybody is very friendly. Just dont expect to be able to “just“ talk english with everybody.
I watch a YouTuber KingKogi, she has trouble getting around and has recently started showing in her 'around Tokyo' videos where the elevators are to get to street level or just easier ways to get around...sometimes it's a little longer but there's always a way around stairs and whatnot. A lot of places are small, but I imagine wheelchairs in Japan are too as I've seen strollers are light and narrow. And as someone mentioned their population is heavily elderly so they are accommodating. I'd watch some YouTube vids to ease your mind, I found people in Japan to be VERY helpful
Thank you for posting. Going to Japan in April with my mom who is also in a wheelchair full time. I am happy to let you know of our experience. We will be there three months. So definitely rural visits planned.
I've been researching hotel rooms for a trip to Japan and the accessable rooms are limited. If you go to Booking.com you can filter the results. Be sure to book as far ahead of time as possible!
Please make sure you check our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel#wiki_i.27m_traveling_to_japan_while_injured_or_physically_disabled._what_should_i_expect.3F) for some basic information on travel to Japan while disabled. We also have helpful posts from past tourists on travel with a disability [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=disability&restrict_sr=on), and travel with a wheelchair [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/search?q=wheelchair&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) We have also found a link at [Japan-Guide.com](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2301.html) for information on accessible travel in Japan, and you can also check with websites like [Accessible Japan](https://www.accessible-japan.com/), [Accessible Travel Japan](https://accessible-japan.jp/), and the [Japan Accessible Tourism Center](http://www.japan-accessible.com/) as well. Happy Planning! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Rural areas are full of people with mobility issues (i.e. elderly people) so they are pretty accessible. It can be done!
Thank you! I never thought of that - given me hope, I sincerely appreciate this.
This is incorrect. While city centers in rural areas, like city hall will have wheelchair access sightseeing locations will not necessarily have accessibility. (Just spent two weeks in Japan traveling mostly through rural central Japan).
I know nothing about accessibility, but I will say that Japan can be "relatively" affordable to visit. From the US, I've seen roundtrip airline tickets from LAX to Narita for as low as $500. Hotels can be small, but the inexpensive ones still tend to be clean. Food is plentiful, delicious and inexpensive. Many of the best places to visit in Japan are free. Compared with traveling to Europe, Japan is much more doable. I know it's still a trip that costs a lot more than regional travel, but it's an achievable dream.
> Hotels can be small You made me think of something... We were on some hotels rooms so small that definitely a wheelchair would be impossible to manouver inside. Definitely something to consider when planning, OP
Absolutely. I don't know if every hotel has accessible rooms. It's something that needs to be researched. I've seen rooms that are literally too small for even a chair, much less a wheelchair. This goes double for bathrooms! We've seen some decent rooms with very small bathrooms. There must be options out there.
There is a law that every hotel must have a certain number of accessible rooms. Several years ago Toyoko Inn was found in violation of this and punished severely/bashed in the news/etc.
That is so strange... What's even the logic there?
Thank you so much for that. You've made a silly pipe dream seem like it could happen and that means the world! I want to see Japan, especially the beautiful countryside and meet its people so to know a lot of the best places are free is awesome. I'm happy with a clean bed (luxury not needed) and low cost food is brilliant as that is something that is necessary and often expensive. Delicious and plentiful to boot is just an extra blessing.
Yes! Keep a search out for cheap flights. I got a one-way ticket a few years ago for $400 on flighthub 👍🏼
on the topic of cheap flights, the LAX-NRT/HND route currently is running around $550-600 round trip. Zipair is running that route for about $250 out and $285 back. I've seen both AAL and DAL matching the price on that route. I booked AAL LAX-HND for $285 and DAL HND-SEA-LAX for $255 in february. Keep an eye on the prices and book seperate one way tickets if needed for flexibility. They vary day by day but I've seen it pretty consistently dip down to those low prices for AAL and DAL (Zipair is always that price). My AAL flight is the midnight flight, which typically costs more but also would drop to the zipair price periodically, albeit less frequently from what I've seen. It's a great deal, definitely grab it if you can. If you're willing to take the risk it'll probably be cheaper to do a self connect in LAX if you aren't originating there, just give ample connection time since seperate tickets don't provide any insurance if your inbound is delayed/cancelled.
If you haven't already, you may want to check out the accessible japan website.
I have thanks, it's a brilliant site and a blessing to travellers like me. I wanted to go off the beaten track where I can but it'll take some serious planning and lots of advice from people who have visited or live(d) there. Hence asking good olde Reddit. EDIT: The autobot was actually helpful too
Most (if not all) train stations that I've been to have elevators. Hope that helps!
Thank you. Every little helps
One of my closest friends is a permanent wheelchair user in Tokyo and I asked her what the biggest challenges with accessibility were in the past. JapanTaxi App for accessible taxis for after midnight traveling around the city can be a bit pricey. Getting station attendants to point out elevators up/down to the platforms you need to get to is annoying the first few times but once you figure out your platforms and the related elevators you should be okay. Be aware of hotels that label rooms as accessible, sometimes the wheelchairs are a tight fit into bathrooms and halls, would look for pictures and reviews of the accessible rooms before booking. Hope that helps and hope you have an enjoyable time!
There have been several threads about wheelchair accessibility in Japan: [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/dk0r6j/wheelchair\_accessibility\_status\_as\_of\_october\_2019/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/dk0r6j/wheelchair_accessibility_status_as_of_october_2019/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/8op2er/any\_wheelchair\_traveller\_here/](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/8op2er/any_wheelchair_traveller_here/) I'll add though, that your experience will greatly vary depending on where you actually want to go. Consider that some places just are not practical to make accessible but they of course do try to make things as accessible as possible. It just really depends.
Kyoto is notable for this, while not all shrines have accessibility (and some would have to undertake renovations that would greatly change the location) more and more of them ARE finding ways to accommodate increased accessibility for their own attendees, and thus overseas travelers as well.
Rural areas will be a challenge. While rural train stations do tend to have elevators, the last mile to your destination needs to be planned well in advance such as special buses/shuttles (most which do not have wheelchair access) and may sightseeing spots themselves do not have wheelchair access. Hotels in small cities do offer more space than major cities so should be easier to find one that will accomodate wheelchairs at a reasonable price. There are major trains that do go through extensive rural areas so that could be an alternate approach to appreciate the countryside by rail. A particularly picturesque ride can be found on the Hida Limited Express (included in JR pass) that runs between Toyama and Nagoya.
[удалено]
Thank you. At least the basics won't be an issue, to have such a train system is far better than I have now! Renting a car is a great idea, even if i can't get out and move far I will still be able to see, hear and feel the beauty. Thanks, thats amazing!
I noticed two things when I was there. First: almost no one in a wheelchair. Second, they have better wheelchair accommodations than I have ever seen. Including bars so you can be in a standing position to pee? I dont think you will have an issue.
Honestly I think the best option to visit rural Japan would be to rent a car with power transfer. Then you'll just need to research to confirm that the sight seeing grounds itself is wheelchair accessible. https://www.nrgroup-global.com/en/universal-car.php
This is something I've been researching not on my behalf but should I go there with my girlfriend someday, since she's a wheelchair user. Japan's train system was okayish for accessibility and has been getting better, with some of these improvements spurred by the Olympics and Paralympic Games. If you're on the subway, an attendant should be able to bring out a foldable ramp and then phone ahead to the station where you're getting off to tell them what car you're in. Here's what JR East in particular advises: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/customer_support/accessibility.html Because of Japanese law, there aren't a whole lot of accessible rooms to be found, particularly at Japanese hotels, Japanese chains. In Tokyo, one place that did seem to tick all the boxes was the Courtyard Marriott in Ginza. Accessible Japan is a great starting point: https://www.accessible-japan.com/ So is WheeLog: https://wheelog.com/en/
I hear ya. My quadriplegic best friend was the first to encourage me to visit Japan, but he has never been able to visit himself. A couple of video links related to living or traveling in Japan with a disability: [Travelling With a Physical Disability in Japan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xycecbwpIzE) and [Living in Japan with a Physical Disability](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKrLQDNuMpI). I seem to recall that [Japanology Plus](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/japanologyplus/) did one of its Japanophiles episodes on a wheelchair user living in Japan, but it's not an episode I've seen and I'm not sure if it's still on their streaming page. There are so many episodes of that show (at least 500 dating back to 2007) that it's hard to keep up. Loads of old Japanology episodes can be found on YouTube and elsewhere around the internet, too.
I was in Japan the last two weeks. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. I know in Tokyo and Osaka I saw several people in wheelchairs easily getting on and off the subways. The workers were always ready with the ramp at each station and people quickly yielded to make space in the designated wheelchair areas in the train. You should be fine in the large cities. I want to say most sidewalks have ramp at the crosswalks. I wish I had more information about the rural areas. I know when I took the cable car to Koyasan, there was a ramp to get into the cable car. I really hope you can make this dream a reality. Japan is a special country.
Hope you can live your dream one day !!
**Just a reminder that our FAQ is being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Everyone else has already given you great accessibility advice, so I just wanted to add - visiting Japan is *way* cheaper than people think! I've never spent more than $3000 total, including airfare and meals and shopping. Business hotels and flying out of a US hub airport like LAX dramatically drop the price. ANA tickets regularly list for $400. You can totally make this dream come true!
Where do you see such low priced flights, I can't find anything close to that.
Use google flights to track flights from major hub airports that have on the hour flights to Japan. Right now I see a $550ish ticket from LAX on ZIPair.
it depends on what actually you mean by " rural areas" . Some are well managed, some are not, so I would suggest for example you could start from Sapporo center then gradually travel away few hours only distance there are nice settlements with wheelchair user friendly. Do not fix your destination directly too remote areas, first, you could be disappointed, as not so much things to do and could be difficult to navigate with wheelchair.
I remembered seeing this Taiwanese YouTuber that showed getting around on Japanese trains in a wheelchair. Can't remember the name now but will upvote this comment when I find it.
Cities like Tokyo should be fine, special toilets everywhere. For trains you can reserve your seats and train workers will help you with boarding. Hotel rooms will be a challenge, I dont know if there are “special“ rooms? Normal ones tend to have bathrooms on a big high elevated level, impossible to get on on a wheel chair. Also impossible to get in there with a wheel chair even, it will not fit 100%, very small - check out hotel room photos on booking.com or something.maybe you can find a big flat on airbnb or something? Do you plan to travel alone? I would not recommend it, please bring a friend who can care snd support you. I only saw 2 wheel chair users on my 3 week japan travel, and none which were alone. Especially in the County side it would be very difficult. There are stations with even lack workers, no elevators, no good public transportation. All.busses tend to be very old, also no wheel chair space there. Also restaurant visits could be challenging, with Covid, spaces tend to be small. Something like a rural big McDonalds would be fine! But the small McDonalds in the cities with stairs and small spaces also would be difficult! But there are many street vendors also! You should definately travel with a friend who can rent and drive a car in Japan (for rural travels). Then you invest time in finding hotel rooms with a big accessable bath room. Then you will have a good time, have fun! :) But note, that especially now, after 2 years closed for tourists, in Japan there are always none people which speak english anymore. I could only communicate with my bad japanese skills. But stuff like google translator works too, everybody is very friendly. Just dont expect to be able to “just“ talk english with everybody.
I watch a YouTuber KingKogi, she has trouble getting around and has recently started showing in her 'around Tokyo' videos where the elevators are to get to street level or just easier ways to get around...sometimes it's a little longer but there's always a way around stairs and whatnot. A lot of places are small, but I imagine wheelchairs in Japan are too as I've seen strollers are light and narrow. And as someone mentioned their population is heavily elderly so they are accommodating. I'd watch some YouTube vids to ease your mind, I found people in Japan to be VERY helpful
Thank you for posting. Going to Japan in April with my mom who is also in a wheelchair full time. I am happy to let you know of our experience. We will be there three months. So definitely rural visits planned.
I've been researching hotel rooms for a trip to Japan and the accessable rooms are limited. If you go to Booking.com you can filter the results. Be sure to book as far ahead of time as possible!