Hello, I blog!

What makes the joke even greater is that they are hosting the Paralympics in 2020. /slowclaps

I have been quiet on this blog, but offline – well let’s just say that my life has been quite a mess this year. Since losing my voice from the beginning of the year, I started learning to dance (always wanted to do so since I was a kid). It started well but didn’t quite end well. I ended up with a severe knee injury that has left me with crutches since July, and then a wheelchair since September. Yep, /slowclap for me as well.

I ended up experiencing 2 different disabilities in a year. More on that in a separate post because I learnt too much.

Unfortunately (or is it fortunately? I can’t quite decide – because I was depressed and a trip would help my mental state), we also had a trip to Tokyo planned in late October for 2 weeks and I hadn’t recovered in time.

It was a mental struggle for me whether or not to take on this trip because;

1. I would just be a burden to all the others in our travel group of 5.
2. Taking on a trip in a wheelchair sounded very daunting to me.

There was plenty to plan.

Like accommodation. One of our hotels in Nikko turned out to be staircase-only (no lift) and we had to rebook. But most hotels were already fully booked (the remaining were ryokans that are not wheelchair accessible and I can’t use futons because of my injury). So we ended up in far-flung Kinugawa.

Our decision to drive in Nikko was also largely motivated by my injury, because not all buses there were wheelchair accessible.

Another hotel in Tokyo had a loft-style bed that was not injury friendly so that prompted another rebooking.

Thankfully, there were sites such as Accessible Japan that reassured me that Japan is wheelchair friendly. (Although this turned out to be false reassurance.)

Now, this blog post is going to supplement whatever material there is out there about wheelchair accessible Japan, and I am going to state this TL;DR upfront.

TL;DR
Unless you have an electric wheelchair, you are not going to experience barrier-free access in Japan. Also, travelling to Japan is not advisable if you have a leg injury of any sort.

I am on a manual wheelchair that is human-powered – or in the case of the Japan trip, boyfriend-powered (seriously, he was pushing my wheelchair 24/7 for 14 days while navigating the intricate maze called “wheelchair-accessible” Japan and until now I still can’t figure out how he did it).

The “Wheelchair Accessible” Japan Maze
I am not sure whether it’s because we are overly spoilt in Singapore where lifts are aplenty and are easy to find. But in Japan, the lifts are elusive. Whereas, stairs are aplenty and you can see them everywhere.

Japanese people live to climb stairs, it seems.

In some malls, you can be greeted by a flight of 5-10 stairs at the entrance, with a ramp all the way at the other end of the building.

Even when using underground walkways interconnecting multiple buildings, you can suddenly be greeted by a small flight of stairs midway when you’re expecting it to be a flat path throughout (LUMINE at Shinjuku, I am looking at you). We have since learnt that it’s best to avoid such interconnecting walkways and rely on moving around at street level to get from one place to another.

The amount of detours we had to make just to look for a barrier-free entrance or an elevator was ridiculous, and I can’t help but constantly think about how manual wheelchair users cope. And not all terrain is flat even though you may be downtown, there are slopes to maneuver too.

Shinjuku Station takes the cake as the “boss level” of the “Wheelchair Accessible” Japan Maze. Almost all entrances are not friendly except for the South East Entrance where there’s an easily-noticeable lift that takes us directly to the gantries on L1 (the “street level” is on B1), and subsequently to the lift connecting to the Yamanote Line platform on L2.

Many a time, we found ourselves wandering into Shinjuku Station from other entrances only to be confounded with stairs. On one particular night, we somehow managed to get into the station via B1 – but because our platform was on L2 (which was only accessible via L1 but nobody told us that), we circled the station for 25 minutes looking for an elevator.

After approaching the station staff, we eventually found the elevator tucked in some corner that hardly anyone walks into. By then, my boyfriend the wheelchair pusher was sweating buckets.

Struggling with wheelchair accessibility in Shinjuku Station – This is about 10+ minutes of footage sped up by 10-12x.

Subsequently, I warned the others that we must always use the South East entrance when we are at Shinjuku Station otherwise a kitten dies.

TL;DR
Avoid any walkways that interconnect buildings and go via street level. Expect lots and lots of detours and the occasional sloping terrain. Good luck to you if you’re on a manual wheelchair, whoever is pushing you better be fit enough to cover the hefty amount of extra distance for “barrier free access”.

Train Accessibility
Almost all major stations have platforms that are served by a dedicated lift.

Some smaller stations have platforms that are stairs-only (with an escalator next to it), but the stairs are equipped with a wheelchair lift.

Add at least 10 minutes to your travel time to the platform if your station only has the wheelchair lift, because it takes a while for the station staff to arrive, power-up the wheelchair lift and move it towards you, especially so you are at the opposite end of the stairs.

Watch out for clueless staff
If you are travelling with a knee injury (like me) where any impact to your leg can be dangerous, take special care especially when the staff is trying to unload you off the wheelchair lift by pulling your wheelchair forward from the front. (Note: your wheelchair enters the lift from the back, and exits from the front.)

The staff at Takanawadai Station wasn’t careful when he did so and my entire wheelchair tilted forward. I landed on my injured right leg. It hurt like fuck, I cursed endlessly and the station staff looked really lost and confused. (Yes, these jokers are REALLY hosting the Paralympics next year.)

Bottom line: Don’t expect the staff to be trained in how to handle wheelchairs properly even if the station is equipped with such a lift. You still have to look out to ensure that you’re safe and grip on any fixture you can find to ensure you don’t tip over.

If you are travelling alone, you definitely must contact the station staff for assistance and ramp access because the difference in height between the platform and the train can be as high as 5 inches. Because I was travelling in a group, there was sufficient teamwork to maneuver the wheelchair up the train with some tilting and lifting. Although, it was one hell of a roller coaster ride for the wheelchair rider (a.k.a. me).

Unfortunately, there are also a handful of stations (Nakano Station, I’m looking at you) that are completely not wheelchair accessible at all. Because I was travelling in a group of 5, 2 guys helped carry me and my wheelchair down the 2 long flights of stairs. But if you are alone or travelling with only one other person, you have few choices other than to take the place out of your itinerary entirely.

TL;DR
Ask station staff for assistance if you’re alone because you need help to get on and off the train due to the platform/train height difference. If travelling in a group, muscle power and teamwork is needed to lift the wheelchair. Add at least 10 minutes to your travel time to the platform.

Wheelchair-Accessible Toilets
I will keep this section short. Usually one wheelchair-accessible toilet cubicle is available next to the standard ladies’ and gents. But don’t expect it to be well-maintained. I can no longer count on both hands how many such toilets I’ve been into either stank or had toilet paper all over the floor. One such toilet (at Atré mall, Gotanda) even had cockroaches.

50% of the time, you will find the wheelchair-accessible toilet occupied by an able-bodied person trying to escape the queue at the ladies’ and gents. Often, the person will walk out, spot my wheelchair waiting outside and then pretend not to look at me. Once, a guy hogged the wheelchair-accessible toilet for close to ten minutes, didn’t flush and walked out.

When I went in, I could see what he had for dinner.

My recommendation is to pee as often as you can. When you see a vacant wheelchair-accessible toilet, just go for it. This can help you avoid situations where you are in urgent need of one, but the only accessible toilet is hogged by some inconsiderate able-bodied person, or there are no accessible toilets at all.

Other Tips for Travelling With An Injury/Wheelchair
This is not exhaustive, as it’s only based on my own personal experiences.

Hotels
1. Read the reviews and scour the list of facilities closely to ensure the hotel you’re staying at has a lift. When in doubt, drop the hotel an email, or get the booking website (eg. Booking.com and Agoda) to get in touch with the hotel for you.

2. Book a room that has a western-style bed, as floor-level futons will not work for people with injuries or people in wheelchairs.

3. If you are in a wheelchair and cannot walk at all, you will be limited to hotels that provide fully wheelchair-accessible rooms (book your trip really early if that’s the case, because these rooms are low in scarcity). Otherwise, I booked regular rooms, but most hotel bathrooms had a large step at the entrance that was tricky to maneuver even with crutches.

That’s a really high step.

Sightseeing
1. Be smart. Ropeways are a no-no if you are injured or on a wheelchair. Don’t be swayed even if the ticketing counter has special prices for people with handicaps, or has handicap parking right at the entrance because the place itself can still be grossly inaccessible. Akechidaira Ropeway is one prime example where I had a horrific experience. Staff members don’t give a shit that you’re injured, they just want your tourism money. Be smart and use your eyes to observe.

2. Likewise, hiking trails should be avoided. Even seemingly accessible places with boardwalks can suddenly have dirt tracks in the middle that will cause your wheelchair wheels to sink. Don’t do it.

3. Actually, I would go as far and just say that it’s best to just stay in the city areas. Scenic places, no matter how touristy as they seem, can introduce stress in your trip when your mobility is poor. (For the record, we went to Nikko and made the decision to drive since we were in a group. But you have less of this flexibility if you are travelling solo.)

Our Itinerary
Here is a list of some of the places we went, and my personal accessibility rating for it.

And even for places that are rated “OK”, do note that everything else I mentioned above above detours, train accessibility and the general lack of lifts still apply, especially so if you have to commute there.

Downtown Tokyo
Asakusa Nihonbashi Shopping Street and surroundings OK
Sensoji Temple OK
Ueno Park OK
Akihabara OK
Shibuya and surrounding streets OK
Shinjuku and surrounding streets OK – Plenty of detours. Train station is a horror.
Naka-Meguro OK
Nakano Avoid – Train station not accessible

Downtown Yokohama
MARK IS Minato Mirai OK
Kishamichi Promenade OK
Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum OK
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse OK

Nikko
Akechidaira Ropeway Avoid
Senjogahara OK – Not fully accessible.
Yudaki Falls OK – Waterfall only, but surrounding trails are inaccessible.
Ryuzu Falls Avoid
Nikko Toshogu Taisha Avoid
Kegon Falls OK – Lower waterfall observation platform not accessible.
Lake Chuzenji OK

We stuck to the very mainstream spots and consciously avoided some places like Harajuku (we read about it being too narrow and sloping) and forwent some side trips like Kamakura because we had a lot of doubts about the accessibility due to the recent typhoons. Our plan for Tokyo Skytree also got cancelled because we also got hit by 2 typhoons during our trip, although we also read about the upper observation levels not being wheelchair accessible.

But I hope this little guide still helps.

And okay, end of rant too. I’m never travelling to Japan while injured again urg.