Easiest Way to Book Accessible Hotels – Japan
Easiest Way to Book Accessible Hotels – Japan
Hi there!
My Name is Nicole, I am from Alberta Canada. I am a T6 para, and use a manual wheelchair to get around.
My fiance and I are travelling to Japan this October. I have a few questions and have stumbled upon this forum and the access japan website! What great resources.
1. What is the best way to book accessible hotel rooms? I can’t seem to find where on some of the booking apps I am confirming that the room I am choosing is accessible.
2. We were planning on hitting Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. We have 2 weeks. Would you suggest any day trips from these places? What would you suggest for duration of each place? We were thinking 5 in Tokyo, then 4 and 3 in Osaka and Kyoto – or something like this. Thoughts?
3. Looking to stay in Shinjuku area in Tokyo – favorite hotel recommendations?
I do plan on getting the book Accessible Japan Tokyo so I am sure a lot of information will be in there! But would really appreciate any recommendations on Osaka and Kyoto/day trips.
Thanks so much!
- 10 Replies
Nice to meet you, Nicole.
I will answer your questions.
I’m sorry if this answer is not satisfactory.
As for 1,
I am a travel agent,
so if you tell me your budget per night and your desired location, I will search for it for you.
As for 2,
I think that “What do you want from this trip?”
The places I recommend and the number of days you stay in each place will change depending on that. Please let me know.
As for 3,
The hotel I can recommend will also differ depending on your budget per night and what you want.
“I want to enjoy nature, visit many historical buildings, go to Disneyland…” I think you have many wishes, but the number of days you can stay is limited.
If I can know your wishes, I will make as many suggestions as possible.
Regards.
Tak
Hi Nicole and Taka,
Nicole, I recently toured a similar 2 week tour of those areas. I used a power wheelchair to get around but most importantly I used the services provided by Tak. He went above and beyond what I needed to make it a successful holiday for me and my family.
PS. Don’t trust booking.com for accessibility compliance. You need to contact the hotel directly for answers to your needs.
BTW. The temples and castles you will visit are very bumpy and gravel and stony. Make you have the arms to tackle these terrains.
Hi Tony
Please can you advise where you hired a power wheelchair from in Tokyo?
Need to rent for one week with delivery and pick-up please
Thanks
Hi Nicole! Accessible rooms are provided in the following hotels. Please have a look.
For Mimaru Hotel, just make a reservation on its website.
For Toyoko Inn, you have to make a reservation of accessible room by phone.
Hello Nicole,
I am the wife of a man with a severe muscular disease depending on a power chair. We will travel to Japan in Octobre as well.
Booking of a hotel is always a challenge. We use Booking dot com since you can select accessible rooms in the filters. Then contact the hotel and tell them what you need. Their English is good. Book straight with the hotel. Prices depend on the district, quality and time of year. Good luck with this.
Accessibility of Tokyo is great. Subway/ metro is accessible and service of Japanese people is outstanding. Look up some YouTube videos and decide if you need a taxi. We don’t need for the big cities.
Hey the app GPSmycity. It has walking tours of all three cities you are visiting.
So I think I have saved you a lot of money. Just enjoy your holiday. And see it as an adventure.
In addition to my reply earlier.
Use Google Maps to plan your trip with the metro from the airport to your hotel and in the city. Stations have names in Japanese and numbers. Plan by number.
Download the metro map to see the routes.
This is a link to the accessibility of the Haneda Airport.
https://www.tokyometro.jp/lang_en/station/higashi-ginza/accessibility/index.html#adjacent
Good luck. Enjoy the ride.
Hi, I usually call or email to the hotel directly and make the booking. For hotel in Shinjuku, you may be able to make booking of accessible room for Sunroute Hotel and Keio Plaza Hotel in their own website.
Hello there is the royal Park hotel, a Little bit expensive but we Spent good Time there . It is At least one accessible room. I think it is Easy from There to take the subway or taxis to visit Tokyo and a bus to haneda. I booked on booking.com and Said I need an accessible room. The one was good with two beds but view on a Road. The people was very Nice and helped us at this hôtel.
Have a nice trip.
Hi Nicole, be very clear of what you need in an accessible room or barrier free room as many hotels call them in Japan.
There are very, very few hotels with a true walk-in bathroom, especially if you want a walk-in bathroom where everything is not going to get totally wet with water when showering.
If your person in a wheelchair is using an electric wheelchair, you do not want them in a bathroom like this.
It has taken us months to find hotels with a walk-in bathroom where the toilet is separate to the shower and safe in Tokyo. We have had to go to the top of the price range for a hotel room at the Keio Hotel.
We are still searching in Osaka and visiting there for 5 nights this October 2024.
Request photos from the hotels to make sure what you are booking is exactly right for your needs.
The language barrier can be an issue with hotel bookings and accessible bathrooms.
As someone else as advised, do not book through a website, unless you are absolutely sure the bathroom is perfect for your accessibility requirements.
Check out the videos on YouTube or Facebook that Shane Hryhorec, Wheel Around The World has published from his recent visit to Japan July 2024, they are extremely informative.
Shane is travelling the world and sharing his experiences as a wheelchair user.
Good Luck.
We are using Ohayo Travel for our trip in Japan, a specialist Japanese Disability Travel Agency.
Log in to reply.