[Accessible Japan]

Hi Maria,

I found this interesting map of places you can see Mt Fuji from: 

https://style.nikkei.com/article-image?ad=DSXBZO5588370005062013000001&ng=DGXNASIH29008_Q3A530C1AA2P00

So, from Osaka, you will likely need to travel all the way to Shin-Fuji Station to be safe… that is about 2 and a half hours from Osaka.  

It is also about 12,000 yen one way. 

[maria]

Thank you 

Do you think that once I arrive at the Shin-Fuji Station, I will be able to move around there, and see things? I mean, there will be any local accessible buses or trains?

[Accessible Japan]

It looks like this from the station apparently.

https://4travel.jp/travelogue/10290613

Transportation there will depend on where you want to go I guess.

Will look around.  If you see any places listed on regular (ie non-disability) blogs, let us know and we can look it up!

[maria]

Ok, thank you 

[Joan Pahisa]

Hi Maria!

Sorry for the late reply. I would recommend going to Hakone. You may have to wake up early to take the first Shinkansen that stops at Odawara station (Hikari Shinkansen). From there, you have to change trains to Hakone-Yumoto and finally take another train to Gora. All in all, this takes around 3h30min. 

At Gora is where you that the ropeway with great views of Mount Fuji. To reach the ropeway, you have to change at Gora station to the small train (cablecar) that goes to the ropeway terminal. The cablecar was pretty tight and the lift to exit it was quite narrow too. Josh, have you done it to confirm that it’s ok with an electric wheelchair? I did it in a small manual wheelchair and it was ok.

Here’s an Instagram post that I did about this trip with comments on accessibility:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrqwI2jBDUW/

Once you reach the end of the ropeway, I would recommend taking the pirate ship cruise through Lake Ashi to Hakone. It’s also wheelchair accessible and it’s even got an elevator to get to the upper deck. From the lake, you will also have some views of Mount Fuji from the back of the ship (when getting to Hakone).

In Hakone, depending on the time that you have to get back to Osaka, I would go to Onshihakone park (the stroll to get there and return may take an extra 1h30min or 2h depending on how fast you go and how many pictures you take). There’s a way up the park that’s paved with no stairs, though the slope is quite steep and it takes a while to go up. 

I’ve prepared a map of all the route. The way up starts at the mark “Wheelchair entrance to Onshihakone park” (there are no signs of it being an entrance to the park). It’s located at a car park. At the beginning of the way there are some metallic posts barring the entrance to cars. Here is the map:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HMbtFOCq0nm-lbYfbW0UvZL_YrNZP45m&usp=sharing

Here’s another Instagram post on this part of the trip:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btvg9Gyh1aZ/

To go back to Odawara station, I took a direct bus from Hakone, which was wheelchair accessible (I don’t know if all are, though). I then went to Yokohama, instead of Osaka. All the route may be a bit too much, so you may cut the last bit of Onshihakone park. If you take the bus, you can do the route the other way around too (Odawara->Hakone->Ship->Ropeway->Gora->Hakone-Yumoto->Odawara).

Anyway, if you’re able to get Shinkansen tickets that fit your needs, I totally recommend it.

Enjoy your trip!

[maria]

Thank you for your reply 

And thank you for the recommendation. Actually, I have visited Hakone some years ago .

It is indeed a great route. The ropeway and the ship are really great however, I think that when it comes to Mt. Fuji someone has to be quite lucky to see it from there  . It is visible only when the weather is clear.

This time I am looking for a place which will be a more “safe choice” in that respect 

But thank you again for replying 

[Accessible Japan]

I think if the weather is bad it will be bad on either side of the mountain…

The other route I found from Osaka was: Tokaido Shinkansen to Mishima Station and then by bus to Kawaguchiko Station and then by another bus to the 5th Station of Mount Fuji.

The regular city bus from Kawaguchiko Station the 5th Station is accessible, but I’m not sure about from Mishima Station to Kawaguchiko Station. I can find out, but still, that is a veeeery long trip and I’m not sure that route is advisable since buses can be infrequent… 

That route is for if you want to get close.  

If you just want to see Mount Fuji, the quickest is still just to go to Shin-Fuji Station I think…

If you look at this guide, the “from the train” picture is at Shin-Fuji Station: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6933.html

[maria]

Thank you again for all the information 

I was also thinking about Kofu? Do you think it would be a good (and accessible) idea? 

[Accessible Japan]

Hi Maria,

Kofu is about 4 hours from Osaka (https://goo.gl/maps/t5SDVh4MmahXC7Jk7), so it might be better to stay overnight… but that’s up to you 🙂

As a quick check, the local bus company says on their website that while they are moving towards accessible buses, step-only buses are still in operation and suggest calling the bus company the day before if you want to check a certain route. 

If you have questions about a specific attraction, pop it in a new post and we can research it for you!

[maria]

Thank you for your reply 

Maybe it is not the best option then  I was thinking Kofu because I thought that it would have a nice view of Mt. Fuji, and because it has many wineries so I thought I could visit some. But I guess I will stay with the shin-fuji station option