こんにちは from Tokyo!
November is almost here, and with it come Tokyo's first truly crisp mornings. Over the coming weeks, the city’s ginkgo trees will turn a brilliant yellow. If you pass a shrine this month, you might spot tiny kimono and proud parents out for Shichi-Go-San (more on that below).
In this edition: some award news we’re very proud of, eleven years of change for assistance dog users, two new taxi services run by people with real medical experience, and Josh’s honest take on an allergy-friendly dinner delivered to his door.
tabifolk Wins Digital Innovation!
Remember last October, when Accessible Japan won Best Website for Accessible Travel at the first Travel For Every Body Awards? Well, it’s happened again, and this time it’s tabifolk.
tabifolk is the accessible travel community Josh founded, and the place we always nudge you towards with your questions. It has won the Digital Innovation award at the Travel For Every Body Awards 2026, with the winners revealed at a ceremony in Manchester. England.
This award also belongs to you. Every question asked, every piece of advice shared, and every trip report posted is what makes tabifolk worth visiting. Thank you.
A big congratulations, too, to Eyes Japan, which was highly commended in the same category. Founded by Lingyu Zhang in Osaka, Eyes Japan is a free service publishing accessibility guides for blind and low-vision travellers. You’ll be hearing more about them from us soon.
See the full list of 2026 winners
Join the conversation on tabifolk
Can Your Assistance Dog Come Too?
Back in 2015, we published a guide to visiting Japan with a guide dog. At the time, Japanese law only recognised dogs trained in Japan, and overseas visitors had to rely on a workaround.
Eleven years on, how much has actually changed?
Our new guide looks at what’s improved, from which dogs now qualify to the legal backing users have today. We also highlight what needs further improvement, including the dogs that still have no way in, and a microchip warning worth checking before you do anything else.
The guide also draws on the experience of Nina Smith of TravelPaws, who spent two weeks in Tokyo with her assistance dog, Nixon. Her biggest challenge wasn’t the one she’d braced herself for.
Read: Bringing an Assistance Dog to Japan in 2026: What’s Better, What Isn’t
Two New Taxis With Medical Know-How
What happens when a physical therapist and a paramedic start driving accessible taxis?
Two new providers have recently joined our taxi directory, and both are run by people who have spent years in healthcare.
Re-Move, Kumamoto
After 15 years as a physical therapist in Japanese hospitals, Yu Katsuragi kept seeing the same thing. Patients recovered, went home, and then stopped going out. Re-Move is his answer, and the name has a double meaning you’ll enjoy. He covers Kumamoto Airport, Yatsushiro cruise port, Kumamoto City, Aso and Amakusa, and can stay with you at the sights to help with transfers and slopes.
Habataki Care Taxi, Tokyo
Yasuaki Nakada spent years on Tokyo Fire Department ambulance crews, responding to more than 10,000 emergency calls. Now he runs Habataki Care Taxi from western Tokyo. He covers the whole city plus Haneda and Narita pick-ups, and handles the lifts and transfers himself.
One thing to check before you book: the two companies’ vans have quite different size limits, so not every larger power chair will fit every vehicle. Have your chair’s width, length and weight ready when you get in touch, and book as early as you can.
Heading to Kyushu? You’ll also find Re-Move in our Accessible Taxis in Kumamoto, Aso & Amakusa guide.
Josh Tries an Allergy-Friendly Dinner
Can a frozen, allergy-friendly dinner delivered to where you’re staying actually taste like the real thing?
Last edition, we told you about matoil’s New Year osechi. This time, matoil sent Josh one of its Japanese-style dinner sets to try at home in Tokyo, made without egg, dairy, or wheat.
He walks through how ordering works, what turned up at his door, how he heated it all, and what he really made of it.
Read: I Tried a matoil Allergy-Friendly Meal Set in Tokyo
And if you’re spending New Year here, orders for matoil’s allergy-friendly osechi close on 6 December.
Care for a Reshare
From April 2023: A Visit to Japan with My Assistance Dog Nixon
If our new guide has you wondering what it’s really like on the ground, Nina Smith’s original trip report is the perfect companion piece.
Nina, a former Japan resident, came back in cherry blossom season with Nixon. She got around by train and bus, ate out, and visited spots like Ueno Zoo and Jindaiji Temple. Find out how Nixon handled Tokyo’s crowds, and the small bits of preparation that made the biggest difference.
As with any older post, some details will have changed since 2023, so read it alongside the new guide for the current rules.
Useful Reminders
Eating out with a disability or a dietary need? Our Accessible Restaurants guide is a good place to start.
Travelling with medication? Check our Bringing Medicine to Japan guide well before you pack.
Planning a winter trip to Takayama or Shirakawa-go? Our Accessible Taxis in Takayama, Shirakawa-go & Gifu page covers getting between villages that buses don’t make easy.
Did You Know?
Shichi-Go-San (“seven-five-three”) is when families take children aged three, five and seven to a shrine to pray for healthy growth. Traditionally, it falls on 15 November, though these days families celebrate throughout the month.
Afterwards, children get a treat called chitose-ame, or “thousand-year candy.” It’s a long, thin stick of red and white candy, and its length is a wish for a long life. It comes in a paper bag printed with cranes and turtles, which, according to a Japanese saying, live for a thousand and ten thousand years.
Whether the candy survives more than ten minutes with a three-year-old is another matter.
That’s all for this edition!
Before you go: have you travelled in Japan with an assistance dog, or had a taxi driver go above and beyond for you? Leave a comment or come and tell us on tabifolk. We hear it’s award-winning. 😉
Until next time,
The Accessible Japan Team