Hey all. I’m planning a family trip to Japan in about a month. We have nine people, including a couple of seniors around 70 years old, and one who requires a wheelchair if we decide to do any extended amounts of walking (his limit is probably somewhere between 15-30 minutes before he needs a break). This is not a trip to see and do everything, but moreso to give everyone a taste of a country they’ve never been to. Because of the mobility issue, we’ll try to aim for 1 or 2 attractions per day, but otherwise will be more relaxing, leisure strolling, stopping by cafes, eating food, etc. I have 2 big questions for our trip:
1. What’s the best mode of transportation given our group size and mobility while also factoring in costs? Public transportation? Rent a car? Hire a private driver? Note: We’re from the US so I’m not sure if it would be too difficult to drive on the other side of the road.
2. Our trip summary is 2 days in Osaka, 2 days in Kyoto, and 3 days in Tokyo. I was thinking instead of moving hotels between Osaka and Kyoto, perhaps we can do 4 nights in Osaka while doing 1 or 2 day trips to nearby cities. Is this a good idea, or bad? The main benefit from this is that we don’t need to carry our luggage around too much which could be tiring for some of the elders.
Here’s a summary of our current itinerary
Day 1 3/6) Osaka: Land around 6 PM, Dinner. \[note, we will be flying in after spending a week in Taiwan, so jetlag should not be an issue at this point)
Day 2 3/7) Osaka: Osaka Castle, Kuromon, Shinsaibashi, Dotonburi
Day 3 3/8) Osaka > Kyoto: Activity in Osaka, train to Kyoto, dinner in Kyoto
Day 4 3/9) Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine (no hike), Nishiki Market, Kiyomizu-dera OR Gion District
Day 5 3/10) Kyoto > Tokyo: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest OR Arashiyama Monkey Park, train to Tokyo
Day 6 3/11) Tokyo: Tsukiji Market, Akihabara, Sensoji Temple
Day 7 3/12) Tokyo: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Meiji Shrine
Day 8 3/13) Tokyo: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, get to NRT by 2:00 PM
Thanks for the help!
\[Edit\] I hear you guys. Thanks for the info regarding accessibility. The itinerary may be a bit overzealous. I would say the itinerary is definitely fluid at this point, meaning we don’t need to hit everything for everyone. I think a better plan may be to split up into 2 groups regardless, one for the adventurers and one for the leisure.
7 comments
Honest answer is that probably trains will make most sense since the accessible transportation for such a large group with a wheelchair will run into 50,000 JPY per day for a private driver.
Now, choosing wheelchair accessible hotel (thankfully you don’t need wheelchair accessible bathroom) may be a challenge.
Day 2: Dotonbori river walk is not particularly accessible with a wheelchair.
Day 4: Kiyomizu-dera would be a nightmare with a wheelchair.
Day 5: Iwatayama is inaccessible for people with limited mobility. It’s not a long hike – but it’s either a whole lot of stairs or a fairly steep climb (and requiring at least medium physical shape after rain).
Day 7: Note that a lot of department stores in Shibuya and Shinjuku have half-floors that are accessible by stairs only and many Harajuku stores are totally inaccessible by wheelchair. Harajuku crowds also make large groups fairly miserable.
Definitely trains. It will be very difficult for buses (due to space) or taxis (very expensive and very limited space).
I do also want to give a gentle heads up that, unless your group is splitting into smaller groups, restaurants and other tourist areas are going to be difficult. Most will have trouble accomodating a 9 person group, and some straight up can’t. Factoring in the space and accessibility needs for a person that uses a wheelchair will make it doubly difficult. So I’d say just make sure to do some research on specific places before you go.
They’ve made strides in Japan in the past decade but you’ll still find some places you go to just straight up not be accessible. Since you’re doing the major cities it hopefully won’t be an issue you see much, but it’s just good to keep an eye out for.
That itinerary would be packed for a young fit person traveling alone, nevermind a group of 9 with mobility issues. You mentioned one or two places per day, are those just options? You need to plan the trip around the slowest member of your group. Traveling in Japan involves much more walking than a typical American is used to. There will also be lots of stairs.
In your shoes I would try to hire a private tour bus. Might be tough given the short notice.
Failing that, I’d look into splitting into fast and slow paced groups and arrange appropriate activities for each. Rental cars may help but urban driving, navigating, and parking are likely going to be very stressful for you. If you want to go this route, get your IDPs and reservations sorted asap. You’ll probably need two vehicles.
Pick either osaka or kyoto, not both. If the young ones get restless they can go on day trips on their own.
Good luck.
**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.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4)
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.*
Just adding notes, I don’t believe there is a requirement to provide wheelchair access to an establishment, unlike in the US. So you might encounter difficulty if your wheelchair is not easily collapsible most of the time.
I don’t remember the Arashiyama monkey park being accessible (the trail was surprisingly steep and iirc there were only stairs at the top?)
Plus you are planning to go to Shinjuku Gyoen on Monday… it’s not open on Mondays
I have nothing to add except that damn I’m impressed with you for taking this on. If I were in your shoes I’d be “Hey folks, looks like we’re heading to Myrtle Beach for our holidays this year. They have a great new Pokémon themed mini-putt opening it. It’ll be just like Tokyo!”