My name is Josh Grisdale and I'm from Canada,

near Toronto originally, and I've lived in Japan for about eight years now

The door on the opposite side you entered will open

What should I buy?

The door will close

Sorry, excuse me

If you do any research on Japan,

you know that they have an excellent transportation system

If you've traveled in it, you may have also noticed

they have many features to accommodate people with physical disabilities

So here's the lowdown on how it works

It's half price for wheelchair users, half

There are some stations now that have a raised area for people in wheelchairs

so that they can drive right on the train themselves

But of course, you know, if the destination they are going to doesn't have

that kind of adaptation then it's difficult to use

So while there are some lines that have that, most of the lines,

they just have somebody who is a staff member who will help you get on the train

So when you buy you're ticket you go to the staff member waiting at the ticket

gate and you tell them where it is you would like to go

Can I get a slope please? I'm going to station...

I already have a stamp

A slope, right. Please go upstairs and is the last car OK?

Ok, I see

Yuriko was able to ask for a slope and quickly go on her way with her husband

But some stations have different procedures, as explained by Josh

They'll usually ask you to wait a minute by the area

And then the other staff member will come

Thank you for waiting, you're going to Shinbashi station, right?

Please come this way

And they'll have a portable ramp with them

And they'll take you to the place in the train, maybe where there is an accessible

area to sit in a wheelchair

And they'll put the ramp out and help you get on the train

Travelling through the train is not something Yuriko usually does

Could you open the door?

Oh, yes!

But, she wanted to show the special wheelchair section in the train, so off we went

Normally, I use here, special space for wheelchair users

It's very good, practical, because it's so dangerous, I hit the people

Ok, sorry

Pardon me

And then when you get to your destination or maybe a transfer point

there'll be somebody waiting there for you

They know exactly what train you are on, where you are

And they'll put a ramp down for you and they'll help you either get out

the station or get on to your next train

So it's a great system I think

Thanks

Thank you very much

Road condition is fabulous in Japan

But, in other countries, so bumpy

Bumpy, yeah.

So buses are also quite accessible

They have these buses called non-step

But what happens is you just sort of go to the bus loading area

And you sort of indicate to the driver that you'd like to get on

And then the driver will sort of try to maneuver the bus into a good position

And then he'll get out and unlock a ramp from a special door inside the bus

And lay the ramp down for you to get on

Inside the bus there's two seats that fold up to make way for people with wheelchairs

And they can sit in that area

And then you just tell the bus driver where it is you'd like to get off

And then he'll stop again for you and let you out there

Now, it's not as good as the train and in the past, actually,

the bus drivers weren't very well trained

and sometimes they would maybe not, it's extra work for them so they wouldn't

necessarily want to help people sometimes

But there's been a lot more training put into making sure that doesn't happen

and there's also new laws coming into effect recently to prevent discrimination

against people with disabilities

so I think that's also helping to make things easier to get around as well

Ah, usually I use our car, by car, but

another prefecture, like Fukushima or Osaka, I use public transportation

My husband carry me to seat, to the car seat and fold, folds my electric wheelchair

and put the trunk, my wheelchair

There are accessible taxis that have lifts in the back of them as well

We have to request before one or two days

And now they are expensive...

Well, no more than a regular taxi

but regular taxis in Japan can be quite expensive

Very kind taxi company is same price as regular taxi

But the special vehicle taxi is very expensive to get it

So, normally we have to pay more

I asked Yuriko and Josh if they planned their commutes to avoid busy travel times

And their answers, well, they were quite different

I try to plan, not traffic jam, not busy

Because it's very dangerous for wheelchair users

and not only for wheelchair users, and

elderly people, and mothers with strollers it's very, very dangerous

Japanese traffic jam is very crowded

I personally don't necessarily put that into, take that into consideration

whether it's going to be crowded or not

because, you know, I've got my schedule I'd like to keep and my freedom as well

So, even if it's going to be rush hour,

then I'll still go on the train if that's what's needed

It can sometimes, obviously be a little bit difficult to get on,

and there's been a couple times where it's just been impossible to get on because of

the crowding

and I've had to wait one or two trains extra

But because there's a space available for people in wheelchairs

People are generally quite considerate and will move out of the way even though it's

rush hour

So it's obviously not the ideal time, but um, if you got to go somewhere

it shouldn't stop you I don't think yeah

Because of the space created by my wheelchair, and the crowding from behind,

sometimes people end up leaning over top of me

So it's been some awkward moments where people are quite close,

I've had sweat drip on me or something like that from somebody else,

but you know, it makes a good story, so yeah

I understand where both Yuriko and Josh are coming from

If you need to travel somewhere by a certain time, like for work,

then go about your business, don't let your disability stop you

But, if you're not pressed for time, you'll be more comfortable,

whether you're disabled or not, avoiding the hectic, rush hour times

So tenji blocks, they are braille blocks,

and they are actually designed by somebody in Japan

back in the 1960's for his friend who couldn't see

What they are, is they're sort of a clue for people with visual impairments

so that they can feel with their feet or their cane

which direction the street is going

As well, if their are any points of concern or points of warning

So they are generally stripes if it's a go ahead and at maybe corners,

or places where they need to take warning there'll be little dots instead,

so they'll also be at the edge of train tracks as well,

so people know not to...

if they go any further, they'll fall onto the tracks kind of thing

There sort of a double-edged sword for people with wheelchairs

because they can be a little bit uncomfortable to drive over

because of the bumps and stuff

But at the same time, it's also a good clue to find the accessible path

So maybe if you're in some sort of shopping area,

and you want to know where the elevator is

You're probably on track if you can follow those tracks, because they will generally

lead to the elevator, or an accessible exit, or something like that,

so they have their own unique clues as well for people in wheelchairs

Japanese bathrooms for wheelchair users is the most convenient in the world

So I love it

When I go back to Japan, Tokyo,

I'm very relieved to use Japanese bathrooms

So in addition to the famous washlets and stuff that clean your behind for you

one other great thing about toilets in Japan is for people with disabilities

they have a thing called the daredemo toilet, sorry, everybody's toilet

Third floor there's a colostomy facility

On the ninth floor... there's no colostomy facility

So many assistive devices in bathrooms for wheelchair users

This bathroom is very large, large, is ok?

Yeah, large is good!

And there are grip, special grip

Ok

Yes, and back

And very accessible for wheelchair users

Sitting here, wash hands, washing hands

So it's easier to wash your hands?

Yeah, I think so

Emergency cord

Yeah

Ah, depending on where it is, it may also have the changing bed

Or something for cleaning colostomy bags and stuff like that as well

We can turn around in my wheelchair

Hi again!

The Japanese donatademo toilets looked very useful,

but I didn't truly understand their significance

until it was contrasted against bathrooms in the U.S.

For example, in U.S., there are bathroom space for wheelchair users,

but it's separated in men and women, and inside

So for me it's difficult to go inside with my husband

but in Japan, there are special bathrooms for wheelchair users, so we can go inside,

together

And so instead of, you know, the women's toilet and the men's toilet,

there's usually one more toilet in between those two

I know in Canada, they would usually have an accessible stall

at the back of the toilet, which is maybe often quite narrow and difficult to use

So these are, pretty much, everywhere in Japan, which is just incredible

Even if you go to a park, they'll have a separate washroom for people

with disabilities in the middle of some residential area

So I think that's one of the big things where Japan is definitely leading

Japanese toilets are awesome!

They use the term barrier free to mean accessibility

But so if you ever look for anything online you need to look for something

universal design or barrier free

So it generally incorporates things, mostly physical adaptations,

so slopes and elevators and wider doors and everything like that

If there are 3,000 daily passengers, station has to install an elevator

In hotels it may mean that the bathroom is bigger

and that there's a shower chair available

and for tourists attractions, there'd be maybe an alternate route

or some sort of adaptation made to it

For example Asakusa, the temple Sensoji in Asakusa,

they've got an elevator outside of the temple now

and they've made it look like it's part of the temple

So they've adapted it in that way to make it barrier free

Ah, first of all, I would say go for it,

it's maybe scary because there's not enough information

It's sort of a newer tourist destination and a lot of people aren't thinking

about people going with disabilities,

so they don't put that kind of information on

But it's actually much easier than I thought it was going to be as well

I asked if not knowing Japanese would cause issues

I wouldn't say it effects them too much more than an average tourist

other than in some specific areas perhaps with,

because the fact that you can't just get on a regular, a train by yourself

You would need to interact with the staff at the station

People are obviously, because of the Olympics coming up,

are putting a very big effort into learning English

And because also there's a ton of new foreign tourists coming lately

So people are eager to try out their English

So that could be a little bit of a challenge

But generally if you remember the phrase, "I would like to go here,

please let me use the ramp"

then that should be, I think, fine

After that it would be probably negotiating with hotels as to what your needs may be

Sometimes they don't have the same

type of facilities that they would have in North American accessible hotels

and if you have specific needs then you might need to make sure they are met before you

make the decision

I've read the accounts of disabled people who have said they feel like an

outsider because they have a disability

I've also read many accounts of non-Japanese in Japan who have felt like outsiders