[Accessible Japan]

Hello,

Thank you for your question.

First of all, a little bit about rentals in Japan:

Equipment rentals in Japan are strongly linked to the national healthcare system.  Those who need equipment, like hoists or wheelchairs, are registered with their local government and when they rent equipment they apply through their city who directs them to registered rental companies.  The person will rent the equipment via the company but the city pays 90%.  Rentals are done on a monthly, not daily, period.  So, since the companies are geared towards this system, they are often reluctant to rent for a short period to someone not in the system, and either rent at a month-long price (perhaps around 30,000 yen) or refuse to rent.

We have contacts in Tokyo, and Kyoto, but unfortunately none in Hiroshima yet.

I did some searches in Japanese and found these companies that offer hoist rentals:

• http://h-fukushi.net/rental-item-catalog.html
• http://soin-hazama.jp/rental/index.html
• http://realworth-fcs.com/index.html#B000000069 (have email form)
• Here is the full official list from Hiroshima City: http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/contents/1314870249956/index.html

Renting a bed is possible, but I would be surprised if hotels would allow it. Hotel Granvia Hiroshima’s accessible room has a motorized bed: http://hgh.co.jp/syukuhaku/stay_std_universal.html.

Do you have contacts within the sailing contest organizers?  If so, my suggestion is to ask them for help with the rental since the rental company will need a contract signed and they are more likely to be open to it with a local contact.  What they will need to look for is a 移動用リフト (idoyo rifuto), also called a  介護リフト (kaigo rifuto).

You may also want to reach out to Hiroshima BarrierFree Tour Center (http://midori-gr.com/barrierfree/) to see if they can help.

While we don’t have much info, we are eager to help and learn (though we cannot rent it for you, sorry).

 

[hannekedeenengmail-com]

Hi,

Thank you for the speedy and informative answer.

You are right about the hotel (at least the one that the organization found for us), they are not willing to take out one of their beds from the room for me.

Renting a hoist will not be easy, I gather. I will wait for the organisation to get back to me and suggest renting a hoist.

I can bring my own hoist (it is a foldable version) but the problem is transporting it all. The wheelchairs and the hoist would then have to fit in the Shinkansen train for the transfer from Osaka (where I fly to) to Hiroshima.  The info about the luggage that I received says: you can bring as much as your carers can carry… And on this forum, it was mentioned there are no stowing areas in the Shinkansen, if I am correct. If you have any comments about this issue, please let me know!

I found someone mentioning a courrier, I will look into that option as well.

Thank you very much for the local rental sites, I will look into those. I already found one with a hoist on it that looks usable. The fact that it’s all in Japanese is a nice extra challenge 🙂 My Duolingo training (only level 11 up until now) does not really help yet.

Thank you also for the suggestion of the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, but this is pricewise out of my range and also the bed is not really accessible with a hoist. What is the attitude towards moving furniture around in the room? Is it usually fixed to the wall or ground, in your opinion?

All in all, thank you very much from this info, I will go ahead and try to find a workable solution.

[Accessible Japan]

Hello,

Renting is not impossible – don’t get discouraged!  But, it will definitely go smoother if the sailing competition staff handle the communications/rental as the rental company will feel more comfortable dealing with a local organization over a visiting foreigner.  I was told once by a company that they have serious concerns over insurance if something breaks and how they could be compensated… which is fair, but adds a barrier.  Having the local organizer rent it would help them feel more assured they could be compensated if something happens.

Oh, you will also need to bring your own sling sheets as they do not rent those.

As for moving furniture, from my experiences, most items are not attached to the wall and hotels do not mind moving around items in the room or removing smaller items completely.

Keep us in the loop and let us know how we can help.

[hannekedeenengmail-com]

Hi,

Thank you for the additional info. There may be an opportunity to ship the hoist and bed along with my boat in a container, so that would solve a lot of my problems. If this will not work, I will look into the renting option again, preferably through the event organisation, and I will keep you posted!

Could you elaborate some more about removing a bed from a hotel room? I was planning to re-ask this question as it would be much more convenient than trying to sleep on a regular bed. The organisation inquired about removing the bed and as they are unaware of my specific needs, I was planning to give it another go, adding an explanation why it would help greatly if it were to be removed. However, if this would be to no avail in your opinion, I would not give it a go…

Any idea why they are so reluctant to do so? I was told that the Japanese generally try to help you out as much as possible, so I do not understand why the removal of a bed is such a big issue…

Any input is welcome!

[Accessible Japan]

Hi again,

Sorry, I forgot to answer about luggage. On the Shinkansen there is really only an overhead shelf for carry-on sized luggage, and there really isn’t a lot of space in between carriages either. You would be safer  sending by courier. But it could be very pricey. Here is the service: 

http://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/scene01.html

As for the bed, I don’t have any real experience other than rearranging within the room itself. There may have been a practical reason: hotels, like everything else in Japan, have very little space and they may not have room to store a bed as most don’t have large storage areas. 

So, I would ask again directly and at least find out why. The organizers may have asked in a too indirect way like “moving the bed would be difficult, wouldn’t it?” Etc.. Asking will not hurt and may help the hotel realize that it is something that some customers need

Which hotel is it?

[hannekedeenengmail-com]

Hi,

Somehow I got my previous post lost before posting :S So I’ll give it another go 🙂

The hotel is toyoko inn hiroshima-eki minami-guchi migi. On http://www.itsheaven.org are some very extensive reviews of a number of hotels in Hiroshima, some of similar Toyoko Inns.

I looked to the courrier option (thank you for sharing!), but this will not work as we are not in an area where they provide ‘same-day’ delivery. However, good to know those things are available.

For now I hope shipping the big stuff along with my boat will work (fortunately I have an old hoist that I can send ahead).

Questions left right now are: do you think there is any way for my (foldable) non-powered wheelchair to be put on the Shinkansen train? It can be taken apart, but I have no idea if it would fit into an overhead shelf or even if they would allow me to put it up there…

The other question is regarding the big hardcase suitcase that I will be bringing to transport a number of fragile parts of my wheelchair (including two dynamic arm supports and an adjustable headrest (using servo’s) and possibly my joystick. I am not a frequent flyer and only have limited flying experience. Do you think there is any way to store this hardcase at the Osaka airport? Or at the train station (before entering the Shinkansen), for up to two weeks? Or would you like me to post a separate question so others can find the info as well?

Thanks again, your input is so useful for me, it helps me a lot!!

 

 

[Accessible Japan]

Hey,

OK, if it is Toyoko Inn, there is little to no chance you will get the bed moved.  In general, their hotels are very small and there is only a small cleaning room on the floor, not actual storage. As they are mostly focused on business travelers, not vacationers, they are very no-frills.

Additionally, the elevators are rather small – only just fitting my power wheelchair and one other person.  So, even if they wanted to change the bed for you, it would mean moving it off the floor via the stairs and then having the rental bed carried up the stairs.  Toyoko Inns also only have 1-3 staff on duty, so carrying a bed would be very close to impossible without getting outside help.

So, while you can ask again, I would be VERY surprised if they agreed.

As you mentioned, it might be best to ask about storage and luggage etc in a separate question.  Since this thread is about renting a hoist/hospital bed, not luggage, people wondering about luggage may not look here. Moving it to a new separate question will make it easier to find for future visitors.  Thanks for understanding.

[hannekedeenengmail-com]

If they are unable to do so, there is no reason to ask them again 🙂 (although I am quite sure they asked the way you described, which doesn’t help but it sounds like a Japanese way to do it). Thank you so much for your info.

I will start a new topic on the other question!