Reply To: Hanami Kyoto for mobility challenged seniors
Hi Jay,
I went there this past spring for the Hanami. It is much better than Tokyo I found in terms of places to see Sakura. Actually, I wrote about it here:
https://www.tabifolk.com/josh_grisdale/blog/seeing-sakura-in-kyoto-with-a-wheelchair/
I was there for 2 days. But, there is so much to see that you could go really deep as well if you are there a long time. Also, it isn’t far from both Osaka and Nara, so you could make it your base of operations and also go to those cities for multiple day trips.
The accessibility of each place differs wildly, so it is hard to summarize it easily. Feel free to ask about specific places in this thread, or start new discussions for each place if you want to go deep on a specific place.
The one thing I can say is that transportation can be a challenge. The subways, trains and buses are all accessible. However, the buses are ridiculously packed with people. When getting on at the terminal it is fine, but trying to get on mid-route when you have a wheelchair – good luck! There is often literally no room to get on during peak hours. So, you may want to budget in using a taxi for places you cannot reach via train/subway.
