Taking the train to Kawaguchiko in a wheelchair
Taking the train to Kawaguchiko in a wheelchair
So, even though I’ve lived in Japan for 17 years I’ve never been to Kawaguchiko. Has anyone gone in a wheelchair?
I know the buses from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko are NOT accessible, so I’ll be going by train.
There are several direct Fujikyu trains from Shinjuku until 10:30 but after that you need to take a regular train to Otsuki and then transfer to a Fujikyu for the last hour of the trip.
While a direct train is nice, I don’t actually need to arrive until later in the day….
Have you gone to Kawaguchiko on the train? Please share your experience!
- 7 Replies
I am feeling quite chuffed to be able to answer one of your questions for a change! 😃
We took the direct train last year. Even though I am partially ambulatory we still didn’t want to risk the non accessible buses. The time table for the direct trains is more limited but I think it’s doable with a little planning and worth it in my opinion.
One thing to be mindful of is that some of the trains tend to split (one part of the train goes to Fujikawaguchiko and other carriages go somewhere else) so at some point many of the people going to Kawaguchiko had to crowd in to our carriage and it was standing room only for them the rest of the way. Be sure to reserve your seat in the right carriage so you have sitting space the whole way. Probably quite intuitive for a local but as tourists with no Japanese language we simply got lucky our seats worked out 😬
Have fun!
Thanks! Did you reserve online, or go somewhere?
We reserved online
I ended up taking Fuji Excursion from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko. Accessible seat and toilet.
Hi there, would you say that Lake Kawaguchiko is doable for a solo wheelchair user? If one can propel themselves. Also, for your trip on the fujikyu train, did you disembark at any of the stops or chose to stay on the whole time?
Hello
If you don’t mind how long it takes to get to Lake Kawaguchi, you can take the JR line without changing trains. It takes about 3 hours, though. You can also take the Odakyu line from Shinjuku to Gotemba and then take a bus from there. The bus from Gotemba is wheelchair accessible, but I don’t know about any from Kawaguchiko Station. Either way, if you’re only visiting Lake Kawaguchi, the bus is fine, but if you want to visit a variety of places, I recommend arranging a wheelchair accessible taxi.
Regards.
Tak
Hi
I didn’t get off, I just went directly from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko and then back the next day.
My main goal was to go to an onsen and actually didn’t go to the lake itself. I used a wheelchair taxi to get to the onsen, and then back to the station the next day (with a short stop at Oshino Hakkai).
As Tak mentioned, the local buses are likely accessible but it should be noted that the highway bus from Shinjuku/Tokyo is not.
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