Questions about ports in Japan

We will be traveling on Diamond Princess's Circle Japan cruise. There are six of us. One person needs a wheelchair for long-distance walking. Can anyone tell me about the ports I will list below. How accessible are they as for as walking or taking a taxi to the city centers.

This group is more interested in shopping and eating locally than excursions to sightsee.

Miyazaki, Busan, Sakaiminato, Tsuruga and Akita.

I appreciate your help.

Japan as a general rule is not fully accessible. The subway trains do get very crowded and while they do have sections where the seats fold up, it is actually more for rush hour traffic( you can fit 8-10 people standing in the same space as 2 seats are)

Never once saw an accessible taxi , and that was in major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama. The busses ..well, you do enter from the back and the opening is wide enough, but there is no where to fasten a chair down.

Can he bring a rollator instead? Many streets, especially in the smaller villages, are cobbled, brick or stone. Trying to push a WC on them would be painful,for everyone.

Have some fresh tako yaki for me.

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Thank you, Spookwife. This information is really helpful. I appreciate your help!

We will be traveling on Diamond Princess's Circle Japan cruise. There are six of us. One person needs a wheelchair for long-distance walking. Can anyone tell me about the ports I will list below. How accessible are they as for as walking or taking a taxi to the city centers.

 

This group is more interested in shopping and eating locally than excursions to sightsee.

 

Miyazaki, Busan, Sakaiminato, Tsuruga and Akita.

 

I appreciate your help.

Tokyo is the most accessible. Though the trains as well as buses have folding seats that tend to help to facilitate crowds those folding seats actually are there to accommodate wheelchair passengers . The folding seats are clearly marked with the universal handicap sign.

Once outside of Tokyo accessibility is a little harder. Most main artery streets generally have side walks but don't always have curb cut outs. The side roads generally do not have side walks and may not even be paved so you have to walk/wheel on the shoulder of the road. Modern shopping centers tend to be more accessible. However the little shops, cafes and restaurants, whether new or old, along the road can be problematic for wheelchairs and mobility scooters as many have steps and the interior space is even tight for able bodied people. If the wheelchair is a collapsible and the individual can walk a little and do a few steps than this may not present an issue. The high cost of property and rents mean that purveyors use every inch of floor space for merchandise or tables marking it difficult to use any mobility equipment.

Most of the Temples are on a hill so it can be tough at times pushing a manual wheelchair . The degree of incline of the hills may be problematic even for a motorized wheelchair.

Once on board the ship its advisable to speak to the on-board Excursion Manager as he/she should have further input to help with enjoying the ports of calls even with a wheelchair.

You can also check with Princess' Access Dept. to see if there are any excursion that specifically are suited for and can accommodate a wheelchair.

Thank you XO. The information Thank you shared is helpful. I appreciate your help.

I was looking at Goodwill Guides in Japan and came across information about tours for physically challenged, apparently provided by the Japanese Red Cross. You might want to check this out as they offer free guided tours and should be able to give you information at least as far as Tokyo is concerned and perhaps they can refer you to other areas as well. The pdf document lists contact information so you might be able to find out more about accessible traveling in Japan:

http://www.tok-lanserv.jp/eng/doc/leaflet2011.pdf

Thank you so much, BassettMom. This might just be what we are looking for. Thank you, thank you!!!!

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Thank you so much, BassettMom. This might just be what we are looking for. Thank you, thank you!!!!

 

 

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I hope it helps answer some questions. Enjoy the cruise.

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