Monkey Park Iwatayama
Monkey Park Iwatayama
Hi my husband is a full time manual wheelchair user and we really wanted to visit the snow monkeys but have been told this is not possible in a wheelchair. I have now been looking at visiting the Monkey Park Iwatayama intead but am reading that this is also inaccessible. Can anyone advise how many steps there are? He is fit and we can manage the odd step together, we are good at getting to inaccessible places but there is a limit! Thanks in advance for any advice.
- 4 Replies
Hello
Unfortunately, it is more than a few steps…
This video is in Japanese but shows the route to the park:
Thank you so much for the video, it is super helpful. We have had a look at it and think it may just be doable if it is a dry day. He will have the free wheel on which helps a bit!! We will make a final decision when we are there.
Hi Louise,
I went to the snow monkey park 5 years ago. It was late November, outside of snow season, which would have made the dirt trail leading to the park even more difficult (or impossible for me). Anyway, I left my wheelchair at the beginning of the trail (as there were about 50 to 70 steps) and took my crutches. Then there was a 2km compact dirt path, up until another flight of stairs (about 40 steps) or a really steep and narrow uneven incline. Finally, just at the entrance, there were about 6 to 10 steps more, but once inside it was ok to get to the pool were the monkeys bath (only if it’s cold enough outside). If I had known beforehand and had someone to help me get the wheelchair past the stairs, I would have brought it.
Here’s a post that I did on my visit: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7nK9IIewk/
So, if you can manage that many stairs, it might be feasible. Either way, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your trip to Japan.
Thank you for your reply. If there was a bigger group of us then he would happily be carried up that number of steps but as it is only me and our 8 year old it is still probably out of the question for us. He cannot walk at all so is totally dependant on the wheel chair. Maybe one day they’ll make it accessible and we can come back!?
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