I'm Yuriko Oda and my disease is distal myopathy
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
So, I asked Josh, what does it feel like to be a double outsider?
Because in Japan he's both foreign and disabled
In some ways I'm used to being an outsider
So because of my disability, and you know, no matter what country you go in
kids especially, you know, they'll look, you know, what's going on kind of thing
And, so, sometimes I kind of laugh when people who are foreigners coming to Japan
and they say, "Everybody is looking at me and I feel so awkward."
And I was like well that's always like that wherever I go
So, I never necessarily felt any extra eyes on me in Japan,
or anything like that
And, but in some ways it's also, in the opposite way
I feel less like a disabled person here, because of...
I'm often, it's more my foreignness that sticks out than my disability
So it's almost as if my disability sort of blends,
sort of goes away into the background in some situations
So, yeah, I mean, it's....
in some ways I'm double sticking out, but at the same time
you know, I'm no more sticking out than any other foreigner in a way, so...
Josh has actually created a site to help
English speaking disabled people navigate Japan
Um, well I have a full time job, but as a hobby I like to just sort of
share about accessibility in Japan through my website accessible-japan.com
Right now it's a lot of, sort of, general information, for example on transportation,
getting around, and some helpful phrases for people with disabilities
As well as I'm trying to go to different sites around Tokyo
and Kyoto as well and just sort of
So people would say I want to go there but what it's like in a wheelchair?
So I look at it from that perspective and sort of tell people about that
As well as I have some hotel listings for places that have accessible rooms as well,
so...
Yuriko goes by the name of Wheelchair Walker and makes excellent videos
about travelling Japan, and the world, in a wheelchair
Please watch the Wheelchair Walker
There are some videos with English subtitles
I want to inform about accessibility in Japan
And I didn't know how to get super express shinkansen
Or board airplane
Or mandarin picking
Or many things
I couldn't enjoy my life, but information can help us
I really want to introduce about accessibility in Japan
If I do, I will be able to see disabled people in Japan from foreign countries
I would say, I would encourage people to not think of it as impossible
and it may take a bit of extra work to figure if they can come here or not
But, if they want to access my website and send me a message on that
then I can try my best anyways to find out things that I don't know about
Or assure them that yeah there's no problem, so...
Don't give up, come on to Japan, we're waiting for you!
Thank you very much!
I wanted to give a special shout out to Yuriko and Josh
for giving me a peak into their lives
They were so helpful in answering questions, letting me film them,
and even giving me some additional footage
Also a special thank you to Agatha, who helped to translate
Now there's a part two, which will talk about living with a disability in Japan
So we'll talk about things like living independently,
government assistance, and getting helpers
This is video is part of a series of social documentaries about Japan
If you'd like to support them, I've set up a Patreon page where you can do so
Other topics I'll be exploring are homelessness, working, housing, schools,
just to name a few
As always, thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you on the flip side!