Reply To: Safe to Travel around Tokyo and Osaka Alone in A Power Wheelchair?
Hi Carlos,
I’m not sure I can speak to the getting caregivers part, but will try to answer about safety.
I’ve lived in Tokyo for over 17 years now, and while I generally need to travel with someone even on shorter excursions, I have been on my own many times and never felt unsafe.
Drunk people are the same worldwide (though I cannot remember seeing any fist fights etc here), so I think your experience in that regard will serve you well. For people living on the streets, unlike North America most homeless people in Japan tend to keep to themselves and don’t ask for anything.
As for crime, while no place is 100% safe, Japan has an incredibly low “random crime” rate (ie getting mugged etc), so even in seedier areas you are mostly fine (in my opinion). The most common type of crime most tourists might need to be concerned about would be scams where you get “willingly coerced” into a bar/hostess or host club/adult establishment for a certain price only to be given a much higher bill after drinking a lot and have some scary guy threaten to call the cops if you don’t pay and then march you to an ATM. So, as long as you are careful about those places, you should be safe.
(Personal feelings: I have a feeling that a person with a disability may be safer with regards to this because such places tend to be in inaccessible buildings, and preconceptions that people with disabilities don’t have money and are therefore not worth it, or it is “too mean” to do to disabled people, may end up help you avoid it. So, safety by ableism? 🙄)
Hope this helps!
