Hello, I really want to visit Japan some day, but as the title would suggest I am disabled, and I had a few questions about traveling with my condition.
So I am blind, and my biggest concern is: What can someone that is blind DO in Japan? I have only ever traveled to see things (I haven’t always been blind) if I am not traveling to Japan to physically see things, I honestly don’t think I will get much enjoyment out of the trip, so i would like some direction there.
Second, how is travel for blind people in Japan? (I don’t read braille, and can only understand Japanese at a beginner level, though I am continuing to learn) I just fear getting in peoples way while I am there, I understand Japan can be a fast moving place at times.
Lastly, how are blind people treated? I have had my fair share of awkward, and downright rude and/or ableist encounters with people in the states. I know each individual person is different, but the whole can be generalized to a certain degree.
I hope some information can be given, I have been pretty down lately and want to do something to cheer myself up, and I think a trip would do just that.
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Japan is a country with a lot of the yellow tacile tiles, so there is a *certain* friendless toward disabilities. You should probably still avoid rush hour though. After 9 AM and until about 5 PM trains aren’t usually too crowded. I’d actually recommend that for most tourists, rush hour in Tokyo is quite unpleasant.
I don’t recall ever seeing a Braille menu. You may want to learn phrases for the chef’s recommendation (I’m not sure if they would have English language Braille menus at many places) or to ask for specific foods you like. Japan has some of the best food in the world in my opinion and that should still be enjoyable for you. I’ve seen touchable object replicas in larger museums, perhaps someone else can give recommendations. I remember seeing a bunch at the indoor Edo-Tokyo, which is currently undergoing renovations for a few years.
I would probably not want to go alone, so even if there is tactile bumps everywhere on the pavement, you would not really know where you are going. You would probably want some help in general to get direction, order food and such. Generally speaking, Japanese are really helpful and for sure if you tell them you came to Japan to experience their wonderful country despite being bling, you will likely have great reaction form people.
So you would want to focus on senses other than view. For example if you go visit a temple or shrine, you can still do the ritual such as cleaning your hands, praying, and there is the smell on incense, especially in temples. You can pull your good fortune. You can enjoy food, there is a ton of really good dish to try in Japan. Could go to a onsen. I know it’s not the easiest to buy tickets, but maybe go to a concert. Or are you into amusement park? There is amusement parks in Japan.
Am legally blind, have spent a good amount of time in Japan. I am very excited to answer this question!
I’ve been all over Europe and to a lot of other countries in Asia – Japan blows everywhere I have ever been out of the water in terms of blindness accessibility.
For your first question on what you can do, I think you need to think about this in terms of blindness more broadly. I lost my vision as a teenager and used to think that way, but there’s so much more to traveling than sight. Food, smells, sounds – ESPECIALLY in Japan, where even advertising is multisensory. There is so much more to life than vision. I don’t know when you went blind, but I started feeling better about everything 3-4 years in (I was also a teenage girl dealing with other angst, so that probably lengthened that process). My time in Japan has been some of the best in my life.
Traveling for blind people in Japan is so easy. I have never been in a train that doesn’t announce stops. Station staff are extremely friendly if you ever need help, but honestly, I haven’t needed much help because there’s tactile paving – this is called tenji – EVERYWHERE. And people actually respect it. The only times I have ever walked into someone on the tactile paving it’s been other foreigners – a lot of Japanese people, from what I’ve seen, know that if they see someone with a white cane using the tactile paving, to get out of the way. I speak probably a bit more Japanese than your average tourist, enough to not get lost as a blind person lol, but people have been really respectful with that too. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I once walked into another blind person on the tenji and we both laughed about it even though my Japanese sucks and she didn’t speak English lol. I don’t read Japanese Braille (I’ve been meaning to learn, but just haven’t yet), but there’s Braille everywhere and I ended up picking up a few characters unintentionally.
Something else I’ve really noticed is that…people don’t really ‘care’ about blindness the same way they do in other places. Like when I’m in London, I get bothered all the time by people trying to help me. I’ve been bothered like that exactly once in Japan, and that was at a garden in Nara. Especially if you stay on the tenji and use that to navigate, you really won’t be in peoples’ way. I feel like the closest weird experience I’ve had to what I have in the US fairly regularly is one time I walked by a group of schoolchildren and they all started talking about blindness…which, meh, whatever.
I also have a blind friend who was an expat in Japan for something like ten years, and she’s mentioned that some of how blind people are (comparatively) treated well in Japan has to do with blindness having some sacred/mythological connotations. I haven’t researched this much so idk a lot there, but she’s mentioned it.
Tl;dr: Japan is very welcoming to blind people, you will have a great time, you should go if you want.
I have to run to get on a call but I will probably add more later. Feel free to DM me as well.
I was in Japan a few years ago. I’m monocular and use a cane, but I didn’t notice much. I did get several pictures surreptitiously taken of me though.
What can you do in Japan if you aren’t traveling to physically see things? You can do what I mainly want to do when I go to Japan as a fully seeing person… EAT! Make a list of all the amazing foods you can experience here and make sure you have them all. Experiencing true Japanese cuisine is always the highlight of my time in Japan! Itadakimasho!
Try the Molly Burke videos on YouTube. She is a blind YouTuber who went to Japan and said it was very accessible.
I was recently in Japan, and while I am not blind, I try not to take my senses for granted. In a lot of places I would go, I would just sit and close my eyes, being at a park, amusement park, or sitting in crowded places , to see what I can smell and hear. By far, some of the best moments were simply sitting in an onsen while listening to birds or hanging out at a food court or izakaya listening to the music, voices, and smelling all the good food.
Also, if you are a slower eater, it will also give you time to really enjoy and savor the flavor of all the amazing food. Since I like to cook I tried very hard to identify ingredients in the various ramens I ate or the tons of other foods I tried.