Reply To: Shin Osaka station to universal studios
Hi,
For local trains and subways, there’s no need to be there in advance. For long distance trains, as the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka, 30 minutes in advance is what’s usual if you’ve booked the assistance when buying the ticket. 40 minutes is a safe bet if you don’t know how to get to the ticket gates where you usually go to say that you’ve arrived.
Nevertheless, if it’s a folding wheelchair and your daughter may sit on regular seating and manage the gap between the train and the platform, she may be able to do without the assistance. If I remember correctly, there’s a small space behing the last row of seats of some train cars (at least car 11 does), where you can store a folded wheelchair. Either way, the assistance is useful if you don’t know the station as they lead the way.
To go from Shin-Osaka to Universal Studios, local trains are a good option. For local trains, you don’t need to be there in advance to ask for assistance. You just talk to any of the staff and ask for a “slope” (the way portable ramps to access trains are called in Japan) and tell them you destination. They will help you get to the correct platform, wait for you when getting off and help you at the station if you need to do any transfers. So, from Shin-Osaka to Universal Studios, if the rest of the students are using local trains (or subway + local train [Osaka’s Loop Line direction Sakurajima from Umeda station], which is the other option), it’s ok to do it on a wheelchair (just ask any station staff for the assistance). I lived a year in Osaka using a wheelchair and that’s what I’d do, as accessibility on local trains and subways is really good (if you ask for the “slope” when getting to the station or reaching the ticket area) and as taxis are expensive and may not stop if they see you on a wheelchair.
On that note, if in the end you decide on taxis, I’d recommend folding the wheelchair before stopping the taxi. If they see that it’s a foldable wheelchair, you usually have a better chance of regular taxis stopping. At least, that’s my experience both in Japan and in other countries.
Anyway, if she eventually comes, I’m sure that your daughter will really enjoy the trip!
