Wheelchair accessible tours of Japan
The best of Japan is yours from a wheelchair.
Japan is far easier from a wheelchair than most travellers expect. Its cities are smooth and level, its great hotels keep rooms built for a chair, cars with a ramp or a lift reach the door of almost anywhere you wish to go, and the shinkansen carries wheelchair spaces. A private journey, created around you and the chair you travel with, leaves nothing to think about but Japan.
how it is possible
Created around you, from the first line
We plan, organise and run every tour. Nothing on a private journey is fixed until it is created with you, so the car, the rooms, the route and the pace are shaped around the chair from the first line, and never fitted to it afterwards.
your days
What your days hold
A car at every door
A private car and driver meet you on arrival, chosen for the chair you bring: a vehicle you ride in seated in your own chair, by ramp or lift, or a car with room for a chair that folds, as you prefer. It waits at the door of every hotel and restaurant, takes you to the gate of every garden, and between cities can follow the flatter, gentler road.
The shinkansen
The shinkansen carries wheelchair spaces, and station staff bring a ramp to the carriage door as you board and again as you arrive, where your car is waiting. Where a journey is lovelier by road, you go by road.
Rooms on one level
Every room is chosen for the way you travel: on one level, with space to turn, a way in from the car without a step, and a bed at the height you prefer. The rest of your party sleeps next door, and anything you use at home, from a power chair to a hoist, can be waiting in your room when you arrive.
Kyoto from a chair
Kyoto opens to a chair when each day is chosen well: the Imperial Palace, the bamboo grove at Arashiyama, temple halls reached by ramp, and gardens seen from the veranda exactly as they were made to be seen. Tea can be prepared for you in ryurei, the tea ceremony at a table, first presented in Kyoto in 1872 so that guests could take tea seated in chairs.
The evenings
A kaiseki dinner in a private room at a table with chairs, a sumo tournament from seats where your chair has room, an evening with geiko and maiko at your table, and the lanes of Gion at dusk with the car never far away.
where you stay
Suites on one level
You stay in the finest luxury hotels and ryokan in Japan, each one chosen personally by us for its luxury, its comfort and its setting.
For your journey, each is also chosen for the way you travel. The rarest of all, and the one most worth finding, is a ryokan suite on one level, reached without a step, with its own onsen.
one of our own
Your Tour Director
With a chair, your Tour Director is the one who knows the level path through the garden, the gate where the car comes closest, and the table at the right height before you sit down.
accessible travel
Japan, for every traveller
questions
Wheelchair travel in Japan, answered
Is Japan wheelchair friendly for tourists?
Yes, and more than many travellers expect. Its cities are smooth and immaculately kept, its stations and great hotels are reached by lift and ramp, and the shinkansen carries wheelchair spaces. Its oldest places, the temple steps, the gravel paths and the raised floors of a ryokan, ask for planning, and on a private journey every day is planned around you.
Can you take the shinkansen in a wheelchair?
Yes. The shinkansen carries wheelchair spaces, and station staff bring a ramp to the carriage door as you board and as you arrive. Your Tour Director takes care of every arrangement on the platform, and your car is waiting at the other end.
Are there wheelchair accessible vehicles in Japan?
Yes. Cars and vans with a ramp or a lift, in which you ride seated in your own chair, can be arranged in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, around Mount Fuji and well beyond, as can cars with room for a chair that folds. On a private journey your car meets you on arrival and waits wherever you go.
Are Japan's hotels wheelchair accessible?
The leading hotels of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and the other great cities keep rooms built for a wheelchair, and many offer a room beside it for the rest of your party. Each room on your journey is chosen for the chair you bring.
Is there a wheelchair accessible ryokan with a private onsen?
Yes, and it is among the rarest rooms in Japan: a suite on one level, reached without a step, with its own onsen. Where one suits your route, it becomes part of your journey.
Can a carer or companion travel with us?
Yes. A companion or carer is part of your party from the start, and the rooms, the car and every table are for all of you. A carer in Japan can also be arranged; tell us in the Journey form.
Can I hire a wheelchair or scooter in Japan?
Yes. A wheelchair or a mobility scooter can be waiting at your first hotel, and equipment you rely on at home can be delivered to your room. If you bring your own chair, we advise you on the flight, and every day is planned around it.
What is the best wheelchair accessible tour of Japan?
A private one, created around you. A set programme is made before anyone books, and every guest travels it the same way; a private journey begins with you, so the car, the rooms, the route and the pace suit you from the first line.
What is a Tour Director?
The most sought-after doors in Japan, and its most exclusive places, open only from within. Your Tour Director opens them: one of our own, fluent in English and Japanese. They enhance every day, turning a beautiful journey into a deep and authentic experience of Japan.
begin
Begin your journey
Tell us who is travelling, what you would love to see, and anything that helps us plan for you. The Custom Tour of Japan begins with the Journey form and continues on a call with our team, and everyone travelling is welcome to join it.