In July 2015, we published one of our very first articles, a short guide to visiting Japan with a service or guide dog. It covered a frustrating gap: Japanese assistance dog law only recognized dogs trained in Japan, and the only workaround was a temporary ID for guide dog users.

That guide and our permanent Guide Dogs page both live on here at Accessibl…

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matoil sent me this meal set free of charge so I could try it. The opinions here are my own.

Back in May, I wrote about the FOOD SAFE PASS, an allergy card that matoil and the apartment hotel brand MIMARU put together for travelers with food allergies and dietary restrictions. If you missed it, matoil is a food allergy service that started inside Kyocera…

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Autumn is finally settling in. The maples up north and in the mountains are starting to turn, and Kyoto and Tokyo usually catch up around late November.

In this edition: a new app that could change what happens when you show your disability card in Japan, an early heads-up for anyone spending New Year here with a food allergy, Josh’s look back at Tokyo 2020 five years on, and a 2023 favourite in Care for a Reshare.

🪪 Will Your Disability Card Work in Japan?

Show your disability card from home at a ticket window in Japan, and the answer often depends on who’s behind the counter. Discounts here are built around a certificate only residents can get, so staff have no way to check yours.

Mirairo ID, a Japanese app that shows your disability certificate on your phone, has just opened to overseas visitors. It’s an early first step. The roll-out is starting with businesses such as shops and restaurants, Mirairo hopes to add more travel destinations with time, and only 10 countries and regions can sign up so far (not yet the US, UK, Canada or Australia).

Read: Mirairo ID launches for overseas visitors

Not on the list yet? Our Disability Discounts in Japan guide explains what to expect at the ticket counter.

🎍 An Allergy-Friendly Osechi for New Year

Spending New Year in Japan with a food allergy?

Osechi, the beautiful tiered boxes of food Japanese families share over the first days of January, is one of the season’s loveliest traditions. It’s also one of the hardest to eat safely with allergies. Datemaki, the sweet rolled omelette found in almost every box, is mostly egg.

matoil, the Tokyo allergy-friendly food company behind the FOOD SAFE PASS allergy card we covered earlier this year, has opened orders for its 2027 osechi. Every dish is made without egg, dairy, wheat, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamias or pistachios.

Some dishes do contain shrimp, soy, salmon, beef, pork, chicken, orange and peach, and the dessert tier includes apple, so check the full ingredient list before you order. If there’s a dish you can’t eat because of an allergy or dietary restriction, you can ask for a swap from the rest of the menu until 1 November. Choose the “ご相談あり” (consultation) option when you order, and matoil will email you with the next steps. The order page is in Japanese, so a browser translation tool will help.

There are two sizes. The two-tier box is ¥26,800. The three-tier box, which adds a full tier of desserts, is ¥35,800. Both prices include tax. A set of rice-flour noodles for your New Year’s Eve toshikoshi “soba” comes with every order. Order by 1 November and you’ll also get a set of rice-flour mini pizzas.

A few practical notes before you order. Everything ships within Japan only and arrives frozen on the morning of 31 December, so you’ll need a Japanese address. You’ll also need a fridge to thaw it overnight and a microwave or hot water to warm it up. If you’re staying in a hotel, check first that they can accept the delivery for you. Orders close 6 December, and they can’t be cancelled once paid.

Order here

New to matoil? Read more about their FOOD SAFE PASS allergy card.

🗼 Five Years After Tokyo 2020

When Tokyo won the Games, how many of the city’s train stations still had no step-free route? And how many were left by the time the Paralympics were over?

Josh went through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s own progress reports to find out. In his new piece, he also looks back on his torchbearer moment (a stair lift was involved), what he told reporters from NHK to Le Monde when they asked how Japan compares, and why he thinks the Games’ clearest legacy showed up in a different city altogether.

Read: Five Years After Tokyo 2020: What the Paralympics Left Behind

🆕New from Accessible Japan

1. Toba Seaside Hotel, Mie

Toba, on the Mie coast, is an easy base for Ise Jingu, the Meoto Iwa “wedded rocks”, Toba Aquarium and Mikimoto Pearl Island. Toba Seaside Hotel has one accessible twin room. Its large tiled bathroom has space to turn a wheelchair and a handheld shower on an adjustable rail, and a shower chair is available on request. The beds have 8cm of clearance underneath for a floor lift.

Two of the public baths are reached by ramp and have a bath wheelchair, and the buffet labels 12 allergens. One thing to note: the free shuttle from Kintetsu Toba Station only works if you can manage a few steps, because your wheelchair rides in the luggage hold.

With just one accessible room, confirm availability and the bathroom setup with the hotel before you book.

See the Toba Seaside Hotel listing

2. Accessible Taxis in Kumamoto, Aso & Amakusa

Our accessible taxi guides now reach Kyushu. The new Kumamoto page covers three providers for trips from Aso Kumamoto Airport, Yatsushiro cruise port and Kumamoto City, and out to Aso and Amakusa, where public transport is hard to use with a wheelchair. Your driver can even wait while you sightsee.

Local operators often run only one or two vans, so book early. When you do, send your chair’s width, length and weight.

Read: Accessible Taxis in Kumamoto, Aso & Amakusa

♻️ Care for a Reshare

From August 2023: Go Global: Traveling in Japan with a Mobility Scooter

In June 2023, Anne de Ridder took her first international trip with her three-wheel mobility scooter: nine days across Tokyo, Yokohama, Hiroshima and Osaka. She has MS, can walk short distances, and admits she was nervous before she went.

Her number one airport tip could save you half an hour at security on the way home. She also covers what shinkansen platforms are really like with a scooter, the day her charger travelled ahead to Osaka without her, and the one Osaka Castle activity she had to do without the scooter.

Some details will have changed since 2023, so check your airline’s current rules before you fly. But the spirit of her advice holds up, and it’s a lovely read if you’re nervous about a first big trip.

Read Anne’s story

🔗 Useful Reminders

• Bringing a scooter or power chair? Charging Your Wheelchair or Scooter in Japan covers voltage, plugs and adapters.

• Heading to Kyoto for the leaves? Browse our accessible hotels in Kyoto.

• Planning the whole trip? The Japan Accessibility Travel Kit (2026) puts hotels, transport, medication, equipment rentals and more in one place.

💡 Did You Know?

In Minoh, just north of Osaka, maple leaves aren’t only for looking at. Local shops salt them for about a year, then coat them in a sweet batter and deep-fry them into momiji tempura, a crunchy autumn snack sold near Minoh Falls. They’ve been selling it there for over a century.

The leaf itself tastes of almost nothing. Finally, a way to eat the scenery.

That’s all for this edition!

Before you go: which country would you most like to see Mirairo add next? And if you’ve ever shown your disability card from home at a ticket counter in Japan, how did it go? Leave a comment or head over to tabifolk. We’d love to hear your stories.

Until next time, The Accessible Japan Team

By Josh Grisdale

Tokyo 2020 was the first time I had ever lived in a city that was getting ready to host the Olympics and Paralympics. Then COVID-19 spread, and nobody knew what would happen. There was a lot of discussion and worry about whether the Games could go ahead at all, and in the end they were pushed back a year. It made for one of the more even…

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Will your disability card be accepted in Japan? Often the answer depends on where you go. Disability discounts in Japan are built around the 障害者手帳 (shōgaisha techō), the certificate issued by Japanese local governments, and staff may not be familiar with a card from another country. That makes it hard to know before a trip which discounts you’ll be able…

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To give us your feedback and experience, head on over to the dedicated post on tabifolk, where you can leave your thoughts and opinions and help us shape an article that we are currently working on.

Join the conversation

Wheelchair Accessible Autumn Leaves in Kyoto and Hiroshima

Autumn (or if you prefer, Fall) is now well and truly in full swing, so now is the perfect time to visit if you’d like to see blooms of gold and reds across the varied, beautiful trees that Japan has to offer.

Nothing makes the historic architecture pop quite so well as those autumnal vibrancies. Check out our latest article, which features a couple of handy suggestions on where to make the most of one of nature’s best displays!

Get the low down...

Useful Links and Reminders

• Renting equipment for your trip? Start with our Wheelchair & Hoist Rentals guide for the full breakdown of airport counters and hotel delivery.

• Prefer a step-by-step walkthrough? Our How to Rent a Wheelchair in Japan guide covers the booking process in detail.

• Flying into Haneda? Bookmark our Haneda Airport accessibility hub for everything from terminal navigation to getting into the city.

Care for a Reshare?

Following on from the announcement we made in the previous newsletter, we’re sharing another older post that we believe deserves an airing!

Have you read: ‘Handling Wheelchair Breakdowns While Staying in Japan’?

Everyone knows that things can go awry on any trip! So, it’s important to know what you can do if something were to happen to your wheelchair while in Japan. Our guide from January 2024 is well worth checking out. Though a word to the wise, as with anything on our site, it’s often worth double-checking when posts have been online for a little while. Things change, and we wouldn’t want you to get caught short. But this article is certainly a good starting point, and heck, we’ll consider updating it within the next couple of months — just leave it with us!

Did You Know?

A Hokkaido train station stayed open for years for a single passenger. Kami-Shirataki station was due to close for lack of use, but JR Hokkaido kept trains stopping there so one high school student could get to class. It closed in March 2016, the month she graduated.

A Hotel Recommendation: voco Osaka Central by IHG

voco Osaka Central by IHG opened in May 2023 as Japan's first voco hotel. It stands on a corner in Kyomachibori, a quiet business district near Yodoyabashi and Nakanoshima, and its street entrance opens directly into the ground-floor lobby and restaurant.

Get all the must know information!

That’s all for this edition. If you have any questions relating to upcoming travel to Japan, or if you would just like to know about something more generally, please don’t hesitate to reach out through tabifolk.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

By Anthony William

Apart from springtime, when the wonderful blooms of cherry blossoms are in full, vibrant display, and the tourists flock from around the globe to admire them, the other majorly anticipated time of year for visiting Japan is autumn, when maple trees turn rolling hillsides into a myriad of reds and golds. You’ll also catch temples puttin…

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How are we all? I hope you’re all doing well.

You may have seen a couple of days ago that Josh shared a brand-new article about BridgeMAIT titled ‘The Racing Driver Who Runs an Accessible Taxi in Yokohama’. It’s a really lovely interview, and we’d like to recommend taking some time to read it. Yoshio Suzuki-san’s love for what he does is self-evident, and the service he provides is like nothing we’ve come across before.

Catch the interview

In a new section we’re calling ‘Care for a Re-Share?’, we felt it might be a good idea to occasionally re-share old posts and articles from our website, for those who are new to the site or who may have missed it when it was originally posted. We’re starting with this, from November 2024:

Are Travel Sites in Japan Accessible?

The article in question actually forms part of a series of three. The other two are titled ‘Are There Accessible Hotels and Accommodations in Japan?’ and ‘How Accessible is Public Transportation in Japan for Wheelchair Users?’ All of these articles are from our ‘Answering the Top Google Searches About Disability Access’ series.

Have a read

Hotel Recommendation: Bellustar Tokyo

Situated between floors 39-47 and floor 18 of the Tokyo Kabukicho Tower, the Bellustar Tokyo has 97 rooms, including an accessible studio room with premier twin beds.

Unlike many hotels in Tokyo, the accessible room at the Bellustar offers guests both a bathtub and a separate shower. The hotel is also able to provide guests with a shower chair upon request.

Pro Tip: Check out the famous Godzilla head near the hotel, less than a five-minute walk/roll.

Check out the full review

Did you know this?

Forget the superstition you grew up with: in Japan, black cats are considered good luck, not bad. So if one crosses your path here, take it as a sign your trip is off to a great start. Meow! 🐾

The Kyoto Imperial Palace

The Kyoto Imperial Palace, the Emperor's former residence, now sits at the heart of a sprawling 1,300m x 700m public park dotted with historic buildings, shrines, and cherry blossom gardens. Wheelchair users will find accessible toilets, ramps, and plenty of benches throughout the grounds, with the Kaninnomiya Mansion standing out as a particularly accessible highlight — though the park's gravel paths and sheer scale make it more manageable for power wheelchairs than manual ones. It's an easy add-on to a Kyoto itinerary too, just a 10-minute subway ride from Kyoto Station, with both nearby stations offering elevators and accessible toilets of their own.

Read more

Useful Links and Reminders

• Renting equipment for your trip? Start with our Wheelchair & Hoist Rentals guide for the full breakdown of airport counters and hotel delivery.

• Prefer a step-by-step walkthrough? Our How to Rent a Wheelchair in Japan guide covers the booking process in detail.

• Flying into Haneda? Bookmark our Haneda Airport accessibility hub for everything from terminal navigation to getting into the city.

That’s all for this edition. If you have any questions relating to upcoming travel to Japan, or if you would just like to know about something more generally, please don’t hesitate to reach out through tabifolk.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

In July I sent a list of interview questions to a taxi operator in Yokohama and expected a page of vehicle specs back. What came back was a story about amateur motor racing and a night at a hospital emergency entrance. Somewhere in the middle of it there was a piece of calligraphy his wife writes for every guest.

Yoshio Suzuki runs BridgeMAIT, a one-man accessible taxi service. One HiAce with a lift, one Noah with a ramp, and 36 years of working in English before he ever drove a paying passenger. Here are a few parts of our conversation. The rest is on the site.

A defining night at the hospital

Suzuki-san holds a patient-transport operator certification from the City of Yokohama. That is the piece of paper behind the story he tells when asked why he does this.

A guest fell seriously ill during their stay. Late that evening Suzuki-san was standing at a hospital emergency entrance explaining to staff, in English and Japanese, who this patient was and what they needed.

“I watched the staff’s expression change: first ‘who is this driver?’, then, slowly, something like trust. The patient was accepted, and treated well. What stays with me is what the guest’s family said afterward. They had been so afraid of exactly this, getting sick in a country where they couldn’t explain themselves. For a traveler, that fear is often bigger than the trip itself.”

He does not drop people at a hospital and leave. He stays on as the English-speaking advocate in the room, which is the part of this service that is hardest to buy anywhere else.

What racing taught him about a wheelchair van

He raced as an amateur for years. When he set up the HiAce for wheelchair passengers, he rebuilt the suspension the way you would on a track car, because the person in the chair sits right over the rear axle and feels every bump before anyone else does.

“These are upgrades you would normally find on an enthusiast’s car. I did them so that a two-hour drive to Hakone leaves my guests relaxed, not exhausted. Racing taught me one thing above all: smoothness is a skill. On a track, smooth is fast. In this work, smooth is comfort.”

The secret about airport transfers

I had filed the airport and cruise pier runs under logistics. He disagrees.

“But let me tell you a secret about the transfers, because people think of them as mere logistics. They are not, not on my routes. Leaving Osanbashi pier for Haneda or Narita, we cross the Yokohama Bay Bridge, the very bridge in the BridgeMAIT logo. I named my company after a bridge, and I get to drive my guests across the real one, over the whole port of Yokohama opening up below. And coming from the airports toward Yokohama, or heading out toward Hakkeijima in the late afternoon, there is a moment on the expressway when Mt. Fuji appears against the evening sky. My guests often assume the sightseeing starts after they check in to the hotel. On this coast, it starts the moment the wheels roll.”

Two weeks ago he took a couple from Italy on his Fuji and Hakone day. They left a public Google review afterwards:

“As a wheelchair user, I especially appreciated the perfect accessibility: the accessible van, the careful planning, and their constant help made everything smooth, comfortable, and stress-free.”

Davide and Claudia, in their public Google review of BridgeMAIT

There is a lot more in the full interview. Why “BridgeMAIT” is not the pun I assumed it was. What a stretcher is doing in a taxi, and why it usually isn’t. Why he plans two complete itineraries for every tour. What his wife writes for each guest, and what that has to do with a difficult period in his life. And the one thing he says to anyone unsure whether Japan is possible for them.

Read the full story

Would you like to hire Suzuki-san for a transfer or a day out? His vehicle specs and fares are on his listing on Accessible Japan, and the inquiry form there goes straight to him. Click here to inquire. He answers every message himself.

Josh

Japan is deep in the midst of typhoon season, which usually results in folks checking the forecast rather obsessively and keeping just about everything crossed in hopes for the best possible weather. But if you stop for a moment and squint, you’ll start to notice the faint signs of autumn on its way. Vending machines are starting to be stocked with hot cans of coffee, a sure sign that cooler days are just around the corner.

We’ve got two things really worth your attention in this edition: a certain deadline is closing soon, and we have some new additions to our accessible taxi directory. Plus: the lowdown on Hotel Naniwa Issui. Enjoy!

Last Call: The Airport Rental One-Way Trial

As of the time of writing, anyone arriving at one airport and leaving from another can take advantage of alternate pick-up and drop-off locations for mobility equipment. That means you can pick up a rental wheelchair at one airport, enjoy your vacation in Japan, and then, if applicable, drop off the rental chair at a different airport when you depart, at no extra charge.

There is one big caveat, though. This was only a trial, and it is scheduled to end on September 30th, 2026.

If you’re planning a multi-airport itinerary for later this year, now is the time to check whether your route qualifies before the window closes.

Read the full rental guide, including which airports and equipment are covered >

Hotel Spotlight: MIMARU Tokyo Kinshicho

MIMARU is an apartment-style brand built around families and groups: every room comes with a full kitchen, a proper living area, and enough floor space to really spread out, which matters as much for a wheelchair user as it does for a family of four. The accessible room here has wide hallways and a large turning space, so you can move around quite comfortably. MIMARU’s accessible rooms also feature bathrooms that follow the universal design approach.

A word to the wise, though, in keeping with how we cover every listing: the bathroom is a unit bath rather than a dedicated roll-in shower, so if a true barrier-free roll-in shower is non-negotiable for you, it’s worth checking the listing’s shower details closely, or reaching out to MIMARU directly, before booking.

Read more about MIMARU Tokyo Kinshicho >

Getting Around by Accessible Taxi

If you haven’t explored this part of the site yet, it’s definitely worth a look, especially if you’re still deciding between taking the train everywhere and going by taxi.

Tokyo’s trains and subways are some of the most accessible in the world, but changing lines with a wheelchair, scooter, and luggage can wear you out fast. That’s where a private accessible taxi comes in: door-to-door, on your schedule, no transfers required. Our Tokyo taxi directory rounds up vetted, lift-equipped providers who can take power chairs, scooters, and larger groups that a standard JpnTaxi can’t accommodate, whether that’s an airport run, a full day of sightseeing, or just a break from the crowds.

Airports get their own dedicated pages too, and there’s a reason for that: Japanese taxi licensing is prefecture-specific, so not every provider who can pick you up in central Tokyo is legally allowed to serve Narita. We break down exactly which providers cover which routes so you’re not caught off guard.

Browse accessible taxis in Tokyo >

Browse accessible taxis at Narita Airport >

Our Founder a Webinar Guest!

In case you missed it, our founder and dear leader, , was a guest on a brand-new webinar created by our friends over at !

We’ve put together a bit of a blog post based on the webinar’s transcript, where we go through some of the key answers that were given.

Read ‘Your Japan Accessibility Questions, Answered’ here >

Useful Links and Reminders

• Renting equipment for your trip? Start with our Wheelchair & Hoist Rentals guide for the full breakdown of airport counters and hotel delivery.

• Prefer a step-by-step walkthrough? Our How to Rent a Wheelchair in Japan guide covers the booking process in detail.

• Flying into Haneda? Bookmark our Haneda Airport accessibility hub for everything from terminal navigation to getting into the city.

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Did You Know?

This October (18th–24th), Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture will host the Asian Para Games for the first time ever, marking the first time Japan has held this event. Nearly 500 medal events across 18 sports, including wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and goalball, will bring thousands of athletes from across Asia to compete at 19 venues around the region.

That’s all for this edition. If you have any questions relating to upcoming travel to Japan, or if you would just like to know about something more generally, please don’t hesitate to reach out through tabifolk.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

We’d like to start this edition of The Access Dispatch on a somber note. In light of the recent earthquake that struck Japan, our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind readers of the dangers that can sometimes present when traveling, and it seems like a good moment to share our article guide on earthquake preparedness.

Earthquake Preparedness for Travelers with Disabilities in Japan >

Four simple rules behind Japan’s most liveable cities

Our founder, Josh, was recently asked to give comments about life in Japan and what makes Japanese cities so livable. Naturally, Josh’s answers reflected the positive accessibility throughout the city of Tokyo and beyond. The article was published on the BBC website. Click here to read it in full >

From Our Community: Accessible Fukuoka

Kyushu doesn’t get nearly enough airtime in this newsletter, so we’re glad Cecelia Marshall recently made the trip down to Fukuoka and came back with a full report. She found a city that’s flatter and calmer than Tokyo, with a subway system that gets a lot right, and a pedestrian crossing style that might catch first-timers off guard (in the best way).

She also has some honest notes on the buses, which aren’t a given, the way the trains are.

Read Cece’s full Fukuoka report >

New Guide: Getting from Haneda to Shinjuku

If you’ve ever landed at Haneda and felt a small wave of dread about the trip into the city, this one’s for you. We’ve just published the first in a series of dedicated route guides branching off our Haneda Airport hub, and this one walks through the Keikyu-to-Yamanote route step by step: where to find the station attendant, what to actually say to them, and exactly how much time to build in for the transfer at Shinagawa.

There’s also a step-free alternative for anyone who’d rather trade a slightly longer ride for one less transfer.

Read the full Haneda to Shinjuku route guide >

Stuff We Love

Our friends at The World is Accessible just put together a Tokyo guide of their own, and it’s worth a look. Rather than duplicate what we’ve already documented, they built theirs entirely around our listings, our reviews, and Josh’s own recommendations, with links back to the source everywhere it counts. It’s a nice, curated front door into the city if you’re just starting to plan.

Accessible Tokyo: Your Stress-Free Guide to the City >

🔗 Useful Reminders

• New to Tokyo’s rail network? Start with our Wheelchair Accessible Trains and Subways primer before tackling the Haneda route above.

• Planning the whole trip in one go? Our Japan Accessibility Travel Kit (2026) brings together hotels, transport, medication rules, and equipment rentals in one place.

• Got a Fukuoka or Kyushu question Cece’s report didn’t answer? Ask in the Japan group on tabifolk.

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💡 Did You Know?

Dazaifu Tenmangu, one of the spots Cece visited in Fukuoka, is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, a 9th-century scholar who, according to legend, was born in the Year of the Ox. Scattered around the shrine grounds are bronze ox statues, and tradition holds that rubbing the head of one will bring good luck on your exams (or really, whatever you’re studying for). Students visiting before big tests have been giving those poor bronze heads a workout for centuries.

That’s all for this edition. If you’ve been affected by the recent earthquake, or have accessible travel questions as things settle, please don’t hesitate to reach out through tabifolk. Take care of yourselves out there.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Booking a hotel or grabbing a Mobal SIM through our links costs you nothing extra and helps keep Accessible Japan going. Want the full guidebook? Our Tokyo Guidebook is available in print or as a free PDF on request. Know someone who’d love this newsletter? Forward it their way.

By Anthony Tipling-Bower

Picture the scene: you’ve landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, you’ve cleared the customs area, and now you’re trying to find your way to Shinjuku, through a blur of neon lights and hectic streets. The good news, however, is that this airpor…

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By Anthony Tipling-Bower

Before anything else, our thoughts are with everyone affected by the earthquake that struck Kumamoto this week. Communities across the region are still recovering, and rescue and support efforts are ongoing. If you would like to help, donating to established relief organizations working in Japan is the most direct way to do so.

Un…

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We’re doing something a little different this issue: an all-theme-park edition. Between a price hike making headlines and two hotels we wanted to spotlight that happen to sit right next to Japan’s two biggest parks, it felt like the right month to pull it all together in one place — Tokyo Disney Resort, Universal Studios Japan, how to actually get to each one, and where to stay nearby without breaking the bank.

In the News: Tokyo Disney Resort Tickets Are Going Up

Oriental Land just announced Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea will raise max adult one-day tickets from ¥10,900 to ¥12,400 this fall — the new prices start over Halloween weekend in mid-October. Kids’ tickets go from ¥5,600 to ¥5,900. Adult tickets are now up over 65% since 2019.

There’s a second change coming next month too: the parks are discontinuing their last free Fast Pass, so skipping lines will require a paid reservation system from here on.

One thing worth knowing if you’re planning an accessible visit: the free Guest Assistance Card for disabled guests is a separate system from Fast Pass/paid reservations, and it’s still free. But the park can turn down applicants who don’t have a Japanese disability passbook, so don’t assume it’ll guarantee line-skipping the way Fast Pass did. With ticket prices up and no more free skip-the-line option, this is a year to plan the day out rather than wing it.

👉 Tokyo Disneyland accessibility guide

Spotlight: Tokyo Disneyland

Opened in 1983 as the first Disney park built outside the United States, Tokyo Disneyland is large enough that much of it is genuinely barrier-free — wide walkways, accessible toilets throughout, and benches and rest areas scattered across the park. The honest caveat: some areas use dirt roads or cobblestone that can be tricky, though alternative routes usually exist, and you’ll need to transfer into a park-issued wheelchair to board most rides even if you bring your own. Some of the more dynamic attractions aren’t available to non-ambulatory guests at all, so it’s worth checking ride-by-ride restrictions on the park’s own site before you go.

👉 Read more

Getting there: the park is a five-minute walk from JR Maihama Station, and sits right next to Tokyo Disneyland Station on the Disney Resort Monorail — both stations are accessible.

Where to stay: Mitsui Garden Hotel PRANA Tokyo Bay is an official Disney partner hotel with free shuttle service to the park, and offers three forest-themed accessible twin rooms with a widened 85cm bathroom. It’s reachable by bus from either Maihama or Shin-Urayasu Station, so it’s a genuinely practical base if you want to skip the monorail transfer entirely.

Spotlight: Universal Studios Japan

Opened in 2001, USJ remains one of the country’s more thoughtfully accessible attractions overall — extra-long accessible parking, a Guest Support Pass system for skipping standard lines, and a Support Book detailing accessibility resources in English and Japanese. As of a 2019 rule change, though, that Guest Support Pass now requires a Japan-issued disability handbook; without one, the park suggests negotiating directly with staff at each attraction instead. The honest headline caveat: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man, The Ride are both off-limits to non-ambulatory guests for safety reasons, so Potter fans in particular should know that going in. Jaws and Jurassic Park, The Ride are both wheelchair-accessible, though be ready to get splashed.

👉 Read more

Getting there: it’s a five-minute walk from Universal City Station on the JR Yumesaki Line, which has elevators and an accessible toilet. There’s also a nice alternative if you’re pairing USJ with the Osaka Aquarium: the Captain Line ferry connects the two and is accessible to wheelchairs of all types.

Where to stay: Toyoko Inn Osaka JR Noda Ekimae is a solid budget pick near the park, part of a chain that’s done real work making its hotels wheelchair accessible. The accessible room has its toilet and sink separate from the bathing area, and the hotel can lend a shower chair, non-slip mat, and in-tub chair on request — just note accessible rooms here can only be booked by phone or fax, not online.

🔗 Useful Reminders

• Bringing medication into Japan for the trip? Check our Bringing Medicine guide before you pack, especially if any of the items you take are restricted here.

• Looking for a discount? Read how they work in Japan.

💡 Did You Know?

Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea are the only Disney-branded parks in the world not owned, even partly, by the Walt Disney Company. They’re run entirely by Oriental Land Company, with Disney retaining creative control but no ownership stake — which is part of why Tokyo’s parks have their own exclusive attractions you won’t find anywhere else, Fantasy Springs included.

That’s all for this edition! Been to either park recently, accessible or otherwise? We’d love to hear how it went — drop it in the tabifolk community.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Booking a hotel or grabbing a Mobal SIM through our links costs you nothing extra and helps keep Accessible Japan going. Want the full guidebook? Our Tokyo Guidebook is available in print or as a free PDF on request. Know someone who’d love this newsletter? Forward it their way.

A month ago I went to Fukuoka. Fukuoka is a major city in the Kyushu region. The city is known for its tonkotsu ramen and the Hakata Dontaku, a major festival held in May each year. There's a lot of really amazing places to visit in Fukuoka and the surrounding areas. I overall found Fukuoka to be a very accessible city.

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July is in full swing here, which means Gion Matsuri is filling Kyoto’s streets, Tanabata decorations are going up all over the country, and Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri is drawing crowds down to the river. It’s also officially visa fee season — as a reminder, the one-time visitor visa jumped from ¥3,000 to ¥15,000 on July 1st, so if you or someone you know is planning a trip, it’s worth flagging before arriving at the embassy counter.

On to this issue: we’re addressing some direct reader feedback, taking an honest look at one of Kyoto’s biggest festival-season landmarks, and walking through how to actually book accessible seats on the Romancecar.

What’s New: Two Fresh Hotel Listings

We’ve added two properties to the database this month, at opposite ends of the country and opposite ends of what “accessible” can mean in practice, which makes them a good pair to look at together.

voco Osaka Central by IHG (Kyomachibori, mid-range) is a genuinely solid general-accessibility pick if Tenjin Matsuri has you in Osaka this month — step-free throughout, a level bathroom floor, and grab bars in the one Premium King Accessible room. But we want to be upfront: the shower here is the standard Japanese layout, a handheld/slide-rail unit over the bathtub with a shower chair on request, not a true roll-in shower. It’s a strong option for an Osaka stay, just not the one to pick if a roll-in shower is non-negotiable for you.

👉 voco Osaka Central by IHG listing

Fuji Speedway Hotel (Oyama, Shizuoka, high-range) is the opposite case — one of our verified roll-in shower properties, with 2 Accessible twin rooms. It opened in late 2022 under The Unbound Collection by Hyatt and sits right on the Fuji Speedway circuit, adjoining the Fuji Motorsports Museum, so it doubles as a genuinely fun stop if you’re a motorsport fan making your way toward Mt. Fuji or Hakone this summer.

👉 Fuji Speedway Hotel listing

What the Guidebooks Say / What We’re Saying: Kyoto’s Imperial Palace

If Gion Matsuri has you in Kyoto this month, most travel guides will point you toward the Kyoto Imperial Palace as a must-see — it was the imperial residence for centuries before the move to Tokyo in 1869, and today it sits inside a park that stretches 1,300 by 700 meters. That scale is exactly what we want to flag before you build it into a festival-day itinerary: every path through the grounds is gravel, and while a power wheelchair should manage it fine, manual wheelchair users may find it a genuinely tiring stretch.

There is a real highlight worth the effort, though: Kaninnomiya Mansion, on the grounds, is one of the more thoughtfully accessible buildings we’ve reviewed in Kyoto — a ramped entrance, and nearly every room open to wheelchair users except a small central courtyard. Pair a visit there with a rest on one of the many benches scattered through the park, and it’s a solid, low-key add-on to a Gion Matsuri weekend — just don’t expect quick point-to-point movement between the highlights.

👉 Kyoto Imperial Palace accessibility guide

How to Book Accessible Seats on the Odakyu Romancecar

If Hakone or a Mt. Fuji day trip is anywhere on your summer plans, it’s worth knowing how to book the Romancecar properly — accessible seating (usually Car 5) isn’t something you want to discover doesn’t exist for your chosen train after you’ve already committed to a date. Our full walkthrough covers checking seat availability, selecting an accessible seat from the seat map on desktop or mobile, and handling changes or refunds if your plans shift. One quirk worth knowing upfront: the iOS app is Japanese-only and only available on Japan’s App Store, so we’d recommend just using the browser version instead, on any device.

👉 Full booking guide for accessible Romancecar seats

🔗 Useful Reminders

• Planning your trip: our Japan Accessibility Travel Kit (2026) brings together hotels, tours, transport, medications, and equipment rentals in one place.

• New to Japan’s rail system? Start with our Wheelchair Accessible Trains and Subways primer before you tackle Shinkansen specifics.

• Got a specific accessibility question that no article quite answers? The tabifolk community is built exactly for that.

💡 Did You Know?

Tanabata, celebrated on July 7th, is based on a folktale about two star-crossed lovers — represented by the stars Vega and Altair — who are allowed to meet only once a year, when a bridge of magpies forms across the Milky Way. Across Japan, people write wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches, hoping theirs will come true before the stars drift apart again for another year.

That’s all for this edition! If you’ve hit a specific accessibility snag planning your own trip — whether it’s a wheelchair dimension, a station transfer, or something else entirely — tell us about it. Specifics like JeniSkunk’s are exactly what help us make this newsletter and the site more useful for the next person facing the same question.

Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Booking a hotel or grabbing a Mobal SIM through our links costs you nothing extra and helps keep Accessible Japan going. Want the full guidebook? Our Tokyo Guidebook is available in print or as a free PDF on request. Know someone who’d love this newsletter? Forward it their way.

By Anthony Tipling-Bower

If you've searched for a map of Ueno Park before your trip, you've probably already found our downloadable park map. It's useful — but a PDF can't tell you which dotted line to trust, which shrine steps you can skip, or where the nearest working toilet actually is. So here's the guide that goes with the map: how to actually get a…

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How are you guys? For those reading this in the northern hemisphere, are you adjusting to the hotter summer months? The weather in Tokyo is definitely getting warmer, but we’re still enduring our rainy season, with persistent downpours.

As we enter July, we look forward to the historic Gion Matsuri festival in Kyoto, Tanabata (also known as the Star Festival) celebrations all over Japan, and the Tenjin Matsuri river procession being held in Osaka. And that’s simply to highlight a few of the many culturally engaging events taking place this month. It’s a wonderful time of year to visit, as long as you don’t mind the heat!

In this edition, we're focusing on a couple of things that come up again and again in the accessible travel community about Japan: finding a hotel room with a proper roll-in shower, and making the most of the Shinkansen. Plus a little cultural curiosity to round things off. Hope you enjoy!

VISA NEWS: From July 1st, 2026, the cost of a one-time visitor visa is increasing from ¥3,000 (~$18) to ¥15,000 (~$93), and multi-entry visas will rise from ¥6,000 (~$36) to ¥30,000 (~$186). The fivefold price hike marks the first time Japan has increased visa fees in almost 50 years.

Japanese Hotel Rooms with Roll-in Showers

Roll-in showers remain quite elusive in the Japanese hotel scene. The majority of hotels with accessible rooms have bathrooms where a disabled guest can sit on a shower chair next to a bathtub, and wash themselves with a handheld showerhead they pull towards them, away from the tub. Water drains away in the plug hole situated in the centre of the bathroom floor. It essentially turns the bathroom into a makeshift wet room, but the setup is less than ideal.

We’ve compiled a list of all hotels featured on the Accessible Japan website that are verified as having roll-in showers in their accessible guest rooms.

View that list!

Did you know? In Japan, falling asleep at your desk isn't always seen as unprofessional. In fact, the practice of inemuri—which means "sleeping while present"—can be viewed as a sign that you've been working so hard you're simply exhausted. It's not an invitation to take a long nap, but rather a brief doze while remaining available and engaged. You'll often spot commuters nodding off on trains or office workers taking a quick power nap during the day. While attitudes are changing in some workplaces, inemuri remains a fascinating example of how cultural norms around work and rest can differ.

Have you ridden the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) before?

The Shinkansen is on almost every traveler's list when visiting Japan — and with strong wheelchair accessibility throughout the network, visitors with disabilities can experience the bullet train's famous speed for themselves.

Find everything from general advice to how to book a ticket, all on our website.

Get the full run down

Planning your trip: The Japan Accessibility Travel Kit (2026) brings together everything in one place: hotels, tours, transport, medications, equipment rentals, and more.

Welcoming Ohana Support Care Taxi

We are thrilled to welcome Ohana Support Care Taxi to the accessible travel family! Based in Chiba, this friendly service is run by a certified care worker who operates a lift-equipped Toyota Hiace capable of carrying up to two wheelchairs (including electric and reclining models) or a stretcher. It’s the perfect, stress-free option for English-speaking travelers heading to Narita Airport, Haneda Airport, or Tokyo Disney Resort. Just remember to book in advance, ensure your trip starts or ends in Chiba, and carry cash for payment.

Book a taxi now

Mt.Fuji Viewing and Lake Kawaguchi Accessible Tour

Spend your time exploring Lake Kawaguchi and its surroundings while viewing the spectacular Mt. Fuji. Journey out from Tokyo on a specialized vehicle with your friendly English-speaking guide for a memorable time.

View schedule and find out how to book

That’s all for this edition! Until next time…

The Accessible Japan Team

Planning for any trip can be exciting, and planning for a trip to Japan is no different, even if you’re someone who uses a wheelchair. The country has made huge strides in accessibility in the last decade, with particular attention paid to train stations, smoother sidewalks, and attractions that are welcoming for everyone. However, there is still one ma…

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