[Josh Grisdale]

I’m not sure if he is still doing tours etc, but @kyotoursjapan is an expert in Kyoto and interested in accessibility. He can likely give you the answers the fastest.

I’ll start checking these for you, but, in general I would say that places with an entrance fee / specific “entrance” (as opposed to multiple entrances) are more likely to have wheelchairs to borrow. ie Sanjusangendo vs Imperial Palace. Not that the others don’t, it is just that you would need to find the administrative building where they would store the wheelchairs.

I’m not sure what form of transportation you will be using, but it might just be simpler to rent a wheelchair for the day etc… or if you hire a wheelchair taxi for the day, they often have a simple wheelchair that can be borrowed.

[Laurie in Kansai]

Thanks so much, Josh. @kyotoursjapan, if you’re available for a chat do please drop me a line!

[schroth-sensei]

Hello Laurie,
You may be able to find a place to rent a wheelchair for the duration of a stay in the area, but it sounds like you are not worried about going between locations with a wheelchair. Here’s what I found for availability of renting/borrowing a wheelchair at specific locations:

• Kiyomizudera: According to their website, “Wheelchairs cannot be borrowed in the temple.”
• Sanjusangendo: From TabiFolk’s sister sight Accessible Japan, “For those who need to borrow a wheelchair, several are available at the entrance.”
• Toyokuni Shrine: I assume this is the Kyoto shrine (not Nagoya), I found very little information for this location, I’d say it’s pretty safe to say no wheelchairs would be available here.
• Imperial Palace Kyoto: I was able to find a buried note in their website that says, “Wheelchairs are available. Please ask our staff for assistance at the entrance.”
• Fushimi Inari: I didn’t find any on their website, however it looks possible, check out this Kyoto Universal Pamphlet.
• Kuramadera / Kibune Shrine: From what I find this place isn’t wheelchair accessible, I’d say it’s pretty safe to say no wheelchairs would be available here.
• Nonomiya / Tenryuji (Arashiyama): From TabiFolk’s sister sight Accessible Japan on Arashiyama, “Railwayman Bicycle Rental, located next to Saga Torokko Station, has 3 manual wheelchairs available to borrow for free.”

Also, if you haven’t already checked it out, I recommend looking at the Kyoto section of Accessible Japan for additional locations.

If anyone else has more information on these areas, please share. Nonetheless, I hope that helps.
-Justin

[Laurie in Kansai]

This is all so very helpful, Justin. Thank you.