I had a bit of a… unique tourist experience when I went to Japan, so I thought I’d share it here in case it helps someone. Back in November, my husband and I finally took our long-postponed 10-day honeymoon to Japan. It was my husband’s first time; I’d been to Japan years ago through a brief high school homestay, but had stayed in a rural area and didn’t get to do too many touristy things, so I was eager to go full-force with this visit.
The first few days of our trip were spent in Tokyo. All the things we did are well-worn topics around here, so I’ll skip to the more useful information. On the day I broke my ankle, we had traveled from Tokyo to Kyoto to stay one night at [Momijiya Bekkan Kawa no Iori](https://www.japanican.com/hotel/japan/kyoto/momijiya-bekkan-kawa-no-iori), a ryokan in Arashiyama. We arrived in the morning and had some time before we needed to catch our shuttle from Hanazono Station to the ryokan, so we dropped our luggage off at a locker at Kyoto Station and traveled to Arashiyama to do a bit of sightseeing. We went to check out the Arashiyama Monkey Park. Unfortunately, the trails to and from the peak, as I would learn, are a bit rocky and uneven.
On the way down the hill, I stepped awkwardly on a rock, twisted my ankle, and took a tumble. \[Note: I don’t blame the Monkey Park for this. They make it well-known that you’re in for a bit of a hike and I am a certified klutz.\] Immediately I was in intense pain. My ankle immediately swelled and I couldn’t put any weight on it whatsoever. Fortunately, a kind foreigner offered his shoulder, and between him and my husband, I was able to hop down the path to a bench. An employee at the Monkey Park offered me a stick-on muscle soreness patch of some sort, helped wrap my ankle in bandages, and hovered over me nervously. Unfortunately, the Monkey Park didn’t have a wheelchair or anything to use as a crutch and seemed to have only basic first aid, so I had to hop my way out to the main street, which was quite some distance away. The foreigner who lent me his shoulder was visiting with a Japanese relative, and they kindly offered to drive us to Kyoto Station to get our things. Without their help, we likely would have had to struggle to get a taxi, so if you happen to be reading this, good Samaritan, thank you so much!
By this point, we were late for check-in at our ryokan, so I called them and explained the situation and that we’d be late. I probably should have gone immediately to a hospital, but our ryokan was non-refundable and pricey, plus I’d been really looking forward to the experience, so we decided to stay the night and deal with a doctor in the morning. (I’d also never broken a bone before and had a similar accident years earlier that just turned out to be a sprain and healed in a day or so, so while I was in a good deal of pain, I wasn’t sure if it was actually hospital worthy.)
Helpful tip: Kyoto Station has wheelchairs that you can rent free of charge. You do have to put the hotel/address you’ll be staying at and when you plan on returning it, but it’s a pretty painless transaction. Now equipped with a wheelchair, we somehow managed to collect our luggage and make it to Hanazono Station, where we called a taxi via the DiDi app to our ryokan.
The ryokan’s grounds were beautiful, even in the dark, but it is not a very accessible place to stay. There were quite a few stairs up to our building, so once again, I had to hop to it one stair at a time. Once inside, the wheelchair was forbidden, so I sort of just hopped and hobbled around. We had already missed the dinner window, but the employees were super accommodating and prepared the full kaiseki for us anyway. They even honored my request for a vegetarian meal. I won’t get too much into it, but it was both beautiful and delicious. Our room had a private onsen, so I still got to enjoy a much-needed soak. I didn’t get to explore the grounds, but I really enjoyed the experience and hope to go back one day under better circumstances.
The following morning, we went straight to a hospital near Kyoto Station that offered English language services (Koseikai Takeda Hospital). The waiting room was crowded, but we got seen relatively quickly. Though this is merely speculation, I believe that, being foreigners who spoke little Japanese, they prioritized us. A nurse who could speak English fairly well accompanied me as I went through the imaging and diagnosis process. As it turned out, a bone in my left ankle had been fractured. It hadn’t completely split though, so thankfully I didn’t need surgery. The cast they made to hold me over for the rest of the duration of the trip was a bit haphazard and still left my ankle rather vulnerable, but they gave me crutches and taught me how to use them. They also gave me a prescription for a painkiller, but it was so weak that it didn’t do much to take away my pain and I relied much more on the Tylenol I’d brought from home. We didn’t have travel insurance, so the total cost of the visit was around $500 USD.
As I soon learned, crutches are hard, especially when traveling and especially when you can’t put any weight at all on one foot. So I mostly chose to stick to the wheelchair during our time in Kyoto. We stayed in a hotel in Gion. Given my state, we decided to toss out most of our plans and keep things very low-key. Despite having a large elderly population, Japan is not always the most accessible place. There were plenty of times we encountered unavoidable stairs. Many of the restaurants in the Gion area are very traditional and weren’t wheelchair accessible. There’s also oftentimes a sizeable gap between the platform and the trains, so most of the time I had to board with crutches. I’ve heard that train stations do have a bridge they can lay down to help, but, being foreigners, we didn’t know how to seek that service out. Once on the train, most were willing to make space and give up their seat as needed, but we avoided going during busy times. I can’t imagine trying to get on during the peak commute we experienced in Tokyo. However, I can’t speak highly enough for the accessible bathrooms, they’re super spacious and had railing in place to assist in standing/transferring to a wheelchair. Whereas the accessible bathroom stalls back home sometimes weren’t even wide enough to turn around in a wheelchair in.
After returning the wheelchair, we traveled to Osaka. Unfortunately, Osaka Station did not have a wheelchair lending program like Kyoto, so my husband set out to find a wheelchair to purchase. The department stores offered some, but they came with a hefty price tag (around $500 USD) and were flimsy. After scouring Osaka, my husband finally came across the storefront of a wheelchair rental business. Through some Google translate-assisted conversation, he was able to actually purchase a wheelchair from them for around $150. (Pre-pandemic, I had a long walking commute, so the wheelchair got a lot of use even at home.)
Now equipped again with a wheelchair and feeling a bit less in pain, we explored Osaka a bit. Dotonburi is thankfully quite accessible. We had originally planned on doing day trips to Himeji and Nara, but fearing them to be inaccessible and not game for a long trek on foot/wheels, we decided to just go to Hiroshima to see the Peace Museum and its grounds instead. Everything in the museum was accessible and largely at eye-level, and the grounds are all nicely paved, so it was easy enough to navigate and definitely worth the trip.
On the flight back home, I was able to get priority boarding, but they couldn’t get me a roomier seat, which was a bit of a bummer. The wheelchair was also too wide for the aisle, so I had to awkwardly crutch my way to my seat. The crutches themselves couldn’t fit in the overhead bin, so I had to ask the flight attendants every time I needed to get up to use the bathroom. The altitude made my ankle and foot swell even more than it already was and my foot felt like it was going to explode from the pressure the entire time, so that wasn’t very fun.
In general, people were usually considerate and accommodating when possible, giving us priority in the elevators and such. However, I found myself being stared at a lot and a lot of attractions simply weren’t feasible.
tl;dr Be careful when you’re descending the trail from the Arashiyama Monkey Park. Plan for anything to happen while you’re in Japan. Be willing to keep your plans flexible should something happen. Seriously consider getting travel insurance. Bring your own pain medicine just in case something should happen as Japan’s is seriously lacking and a prescription is required even for basic painkillers.
17 comments
I’m so sorry this happened! It seems like you were still able to enjoy your trip despite everything. I think a major takeaway from your story is that if you’re traveling to Japan from a place like the US, make sure to bring your own pain meds! I was in the hospital in Japan for two weeks with a broken ankle/post-surgery and the pain meds were laughable. I tried explaining to the nurses that I had a higher tolerance because of what I was used to, but they didn’t seem to buy it. I was 100% on crutches for about 8 weeks because the country really isn’t as accessible to wheelchairs as you would expect it to be.
> seriously consider getting travel insurance
*always get travel insurance, glad to hear your situation worked out but any international trip always need to get insurance or have a credit card with benefits.
Sounds like you made the best of a tough situation. Thanks for the heads up on bringing Tylenol. I’m an older guy who travels solo and I do have shoulder and knee pains and on and on :)…..Advil is my friend. I love Japan and I’m looking forward to getting back there from the U.S. regardless of all my aches and pains. Thanks for sharing your story and glad you are better!
Sounds awful but glad you got a wheelchair.
My wife actually ended up at that same hospital when we were in Kyoto in 2019. She just had an upper respiratory infection but it was still a multi hour ordeal. Thankfully they had a translator – even though I can speak some Japanese that’s not a situation you want to fumble through! Total cost for us was like $100 lol.
Sounds like you made the best of an unideal situation!
Just want to second Momijiya Bekkan Kawa no Iori! We also stayed there in November 2019 and it was beautiful. Would highly recommend to anyone who wants a ryokan experience in the Kyoto mountains.
I worked in Japan and had kidney stones. They treated me with fluids and antibiotics, I had to get my flush every day in the morning. I had travel insurance _and_ insurance through my employer, so in the end I got all the costs reimbursed (hospital bill and taxi) and got the same amount from travel insurance 😉
Travel insurance is a must. But don’t bring most pain medicine here, [a lot of it is not allowed.](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html) Packing a 60 capsule 200mg ibuprofen is fine, but it’s not worth jail and everything else to sneak in a few oxy or whatever.
Wow, what a wild ride. I had friends visiting us in October of 2019, and one of them shattered BOTH of his ankles when he was in Osaka! I ended up going down to help sort him out and get him and his girlfriend to the airport a few days later.
FWIW, he was able to get morphine in the hospital (suppository), but yeah, they don’t hand out any strong pain killers like candy like they do in the US and elsewhere. OTC ibuprofen in stronger doses (200mg) is here, but most people don’t know what to look for. [You’ll want to look for these, Ringl Alpha](https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B06XKNC4Q2) over the other types.
LPT in japan:
Literally everything here is hospital worthy. I know people who go if they feel a tickle in their nose. Make sure you get travel insurance, but Japanese healthcare is also MUCH cheaper than the US of A, so even if you forgot, you won’t be out too much money. If you’re sick, hurt, whatever, just go to a hospital. They’ll fix you up.
> a prescription is required even for basic painkillers.
This is not true. You can buy painkillers here like you can in the US. You can buy [aspirin](https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B9%E3%83%94%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3&i=hpc&rh=n%3A160384011&__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&ref=nb_sb_noss_1), [ibuprofen](https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7%E3%83%B3&i=hpc&__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&crid=V5WKEPPNDWGB&sprefix=%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7%E3%83%B3%2Caps%2C605&ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_7), [acetaminophen](https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E3%83%8E%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3&ref=nb_sb_noss_2) including [tylenol](https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B00B0LN708/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Tylenol&qid=1616382330&sr=8-1), etc at any drug store here. Of course the names can be different and quick web search will give you the answer. I added amazon.jp links to make it easy to see. The difference will be the dosage per pill will be lower here. You can choose to take a higher dose, just be sure to do your research as some meds can have other things added to them like caffeine for example.
I lived in japan for a year. You hardly every seen Baby carriages because of how inaccessible everything is. The trains are already so packed that people would get annoyed if something like that came on one. But there was always a wheelchair space on one of the cars. Thanks for sharing the story.
A bit off topic, but I wanted to say I’m surprised you had a sprain previously that healed so quickly! I’ve had a few broken bones AND sprains (eternal klutz here too, I’ll be skipping the hiking I think!) and the doctors have always told me that sprains actually tend to take longer to heal than breaks! Super glad yours healed faster though, they can be such a pain to deal with long term!
Your trip sounds wonderful despite the obvious setbacks. That was so sweet of the ryokan to be so accommodating, even if it wasn’t exactly injury friendly overall. It’ll definitely have to go on my list of places to check out!
at least you were able to salvage some of the trip!
I had a similar scare on one of my previous trips, in Osaka I wasn’t paying attention very well and tripped on some uneven pavement. I twisted my ankle pretty hard but didnt think much of it at the time but it hurt and I just went back to my airbnb. By the time I got back the swelling was pretty bad and I basically spent the rest of that day and the next recovering, I was so worried I might have to go to the hospital but luckily I recovered enough to walk after losing a whole day. After that incident I am definitely more carerful about where I step but also more wary of Osaka and its uneven pavements now.
Live and learn, and in the end I end it was still a memorable trip.
Shoulda just road around on an electric scooter.
Been to that monkey park, can confirm the way up is no walk in the park
In fact, after bringing our first group there in 2015, we never included it in any other trip, it’s just not worth the time and the physical exhaustion that comes with it (since the rest of the trip is pretty packed already)
We had a participant sprain her ankle once, on the second day, good thing most of the group was understanding and slowed the pace to help her with stairs and all that, because yes, Japan is all but wheelchair-friendly… sure, stations and trains are manageable (the station staff comes with a small ramp to help you get on the train if you ask/book such service) but then everything else isn’t
I guess the japanese elderly are pretty fit, walking up temple stairs on a daily/weekly basis!
I am sorry that happened to you. Even with travel insurance some countries make you pay the bill upfront in cash or the hospital literally holds you hostage until you pay up. Fortunately Japan isn’t one of them but if you fail to settle up don’t expect to be allowed into the country again. This is where you embassy and/or local Consulate can help. They can front the fees in exchange for a voucher agreeing to pay the US Government back! The situation on the airplane is disturbing for a whole host of reasons! 1st they can board you using what is known as an aisle chair which every airport has several of and they could have reseated you closest to the handicapped lav..essentially we can either take the lave door off and use a privacy curtain to give you more space or leave the door open and give you a privacy curtain to allow you to maintain some dignity. Every aircraft is likewise outfitted with an onboard wheelchair that the crew can assemble and use to maneuver down the aisle. They can store your crutches in a closet if using them is your preference so that is lame! Also if you are seated in an aisle seat if you run your hand under the armrest you will feel a button that is similar to the kind that allows your seat back to recline. When you press the button under the armrest you can then raise the armrest and it makes access to the aisle much easier. This Flight Attendant says that is an epic fail on the part of the airline because that is basic courtesy and it warrants a letter to the marketing department! While they may not have been able to upgrade you there was a lot more they could have done to make your inflight experience more comfortable including bags of ice for your ankle or possibly seating you at a bulkhead so you could have had more legroom! That sucks and yes as someone who lived in Japan it isn’t assessable at all. It has been a bone of contention for years. They hide the disabled away as if they are non people!
I always get travel insurance but understand some countries don’t respect or use it..they want cold hard cash to treat you and expect you to collect from the insurance yourself when you return home! Some like the Philippines won’t even treat you until someone shows up with the cash! This is why enrolling in STEP by the State Department and having the number including the after hours emergency numbers are important because they will front you the cash if you sign a waiver agreeing to pay back or better yet have the policy in hand! All travel insurance is not equal! It’s important to ask when you purchase the insurance if they have a 24hr help line and local service personnel. Or you could get lucky and get hurt somewhat that has universal health care and leave owing nothing but don’t count on it. Even countries like France and Italy now expect tourists to have coverage! I do love that they have 24hr pharmacies in some countries and pharmacists can dispense certain meds or they are OTC!
>I probably should have gone immediately to a hospital, but our ryokan was non-refundable and pricey, plus I’d been really looking forward to the experience, so we decided to stay the night and deal with a doctor in the morning.
Tell me you are from the USA without telling me you are from the USA XD.
But seriously I’m glad you are OK and it sounds like you still had a good time.