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Hi there,
My partner (manual wheelchair user) and I are planning a 4-week trip to Japan for April next year.I am seeking suggestions on how to book accommodation. I have tried the hotels mentioned previously, and most of them either do not respond or say they cannot help us. Is there a way to book a wheelchair friendly room easily?
I can’t call the hotels directly, and have found the smaller towns much easier to deal with. My main struggle is Tokyo and Osaka, which I have tried to book multiple times and been told they cannot accommodate us ( I have tried all the Tokyo Inns and found them the hardest to deal with).
This will be my first time overseas and in Japan, and my first time overseas with a wheelchair user… I gladly appreciate all hits, tips, places to avoid and any other helpful info I can be given, especially around documents we should carry (regarding his disability, medication, etc.)
THANKYOU
Yoko8 Comments-
Hi. We just came back. Husband is a pier chair user. Their terminology is different. Look for a universal or barrier free room. We stayed at Tokyo Inn Haneda, and it was great. In Yokohama, we stayed at the Sotetsu Fresa Inn in their Universal room. Both with fantastic bathrooms, both located close to stations.
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Sorry, That should have been Mercure Tokyo Haneda! Tokyo Inn was next door.
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Accessible Japan show several hotel that is accessible. And you may book by website.
Have a safe trip.
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Hi
Hello.
If you could tell me more about your request, I can help you. I provide such services to many people.
Best regards.
Tak
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Hello Caitlin, for Osaka I can recommend a wonderful airbnb host who has kindly set up his entire ground floor (called 1F in Japan) to be accessible with hoists and bathroom accessible plus he will fetch you from airport or train. The kindest possible person. We booked to stay there next year so I am going by our emails and photos of his place. Please contact him via airbnb if it sounds like a place you might like to stay. It is called Osaka Wheelchair House
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Hamacho Hotel in Tokyo has accessible rooms. It’s close to the Tokyo City Air Terminal and Seitengumae Metro Station. Rooms are larger than the norm for Tokyo. The only drawback with it is that breakfast is not really accessible (24 hour supermarket across the road and excellent bakery 2 minutes away). If you don’t need an accessible bathroom you can look at one of the hotel booking sites, check room size, make a booking then contact the hotel to see if they can meet your requirements. If they don’t then you can cancel the booking.
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I booked the Hilton in Tokyo (Shinjuku) on my Hilton app for an accessible room. I did the same for the Intercontinental in Yokohama. Both were outstanding hotels for wheelchair accessibility and in great locations.
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Hi! Sorry, late reply in case you are still struggling.
My husband and I were organising our trip in the past months and we have hotels by checking a mix of Accessible Japan, Japan-accesible, Japanese-Onsen (for onsens) and Booking.com. We checked the pictures and the individual website of each hotel that picked our attention. When we contacted them, we have better luck by directly asking if I’d be able to enter the room X (specific name of the room) with my wheelchair.
Once we found the right wording, made kind of a template expressing our interesting in the specific room when visiting in certain dates and then directly asking “Is it possible to access this room with her wheelchair? It is not necessary for the room to be barrier-free, just to access it.” If necessary, we clarified it’s a powerchair and therefore not foldable, so we need the space for it in the room (this forced us to look a lot for affordable BIG rooms which is not the norm). However, I am an ambulatory user so I can move around with my husband’s help. If you are not, then you just need to send your standard email confirming if the room is barrier-free.
We only booked rooms with free cancellation and that came handy a couple of times when some hotels looked accessible but then they informed us that there were steps at the entrance for example (happened twice in Nara). It was also the right choice because unfortunately my health won’t allowed me anymore to join and my husband will travel solo after all (it was originally a work trip). But at least we know for next time.
For the medication, I’d recommend you to check the Controlled Substance List just in case any of your medication is not allowed in the country. We were surprised because, for example, my ADHD meds are forbidden and not allowed in any circumstance, so I had to look for alternatives. Other meds require special permission. You can find more info in English on the website of the Narcotics Control Department or here: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html
I hope you find the right accommodation for you and you can enjoy your trip next year!
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