14 replies to this topic

[ryanoco]

Hi I'm new round these parts I'm a c5/5 incomplete bs for 10 years.

I was wondering if anyones been to japan and is so whats it like for facilities i.e. hotel rooms. I just did 5 weeks in thailand which was interesting to say the least especially as my wheel broke 3 hours aafter getting off the plane in bangkok. I wound up flying around bankok at 11.30 on a sunday night in a tuk tuk trying to rent a chair off a hospital lol.

Anyway I'm considering a trip to tokyo and i was wondering if anyons been and if so was it easy or was it a bugger?

[Imight]

not sure how japan is, but i want to go to asia as well.

how was thailand? accessibilty?

[Kev-O]

Dude your lucky i would love to go to Japan. I would think they would be ok with accessibilty, hell i was in Mexico 3 or 4 days ago an i shit you not there was a ramp going into a store that had a handicap sign on it the store was about 4 feet off the grownd an the ramp was 5 feet long. No joke it was damn near strate up an down. So do you just go an hang out in these countrys or what? Good luck man hope you have a blast

[ryanoco]

 Imight, on Nov 7 2007, 04:19 AM, said:

not sure how japan is, but i want to go to asia as well.

how was thailand? accessibilty?

Thailand was pretty awkward, Had a couple of friends with me that were a big help in some places. and I can do a few steps if i need to and i got something to lean on so that helped massivley. The scariest moment in my life to date was getting the ferry from koh samui to koh phangnan, had to go down this rickety wooden pier about 25 feet up with hundred of gaps big enough for my wheels to slip through then get carried over a 1 and a half foot wide gangplank, i was absolutley bricking it ha. If you want an accesible room and shower I found you have to go pretty upmarket a lot of the time as most of the hostels and stuff dont have lifts or bathrooms you can get in. The paths and stuff are pretty shitty as you'd expect, but the thais are really friendly and will come and help you the minute they see you struggling. i didn't find any toilets in any bars to use so its a lot of emptying in drains which isn't so bad as your outside most of the time anyways obviously the beaches are a ball ache but if your doing the beach parties evryones well happy to help ya get where ya wanna go. I stayed at the phangnan buri on koh phangnan wich was a lil bungalow with a shower you could get a shower chair in and right near haad rin. then in koh samui stayed at the kanda buri that was quite pricey but a massive bathroom and lift and again a shower you could get a chair in to. then in bangkok i stayed in a few places not so easy to use so i wont mention em!

[ryanoco]

 Kev-O, on Nov 7 2007, 04:44 AM, said:

Dude your lucky i would love to go to Japan. I would think they would be ok with accessibilty, hell i was in Mexico 3 or 4 days ago an i shit you not there was a ramp going into a store that had a handicap sign on it the store was about 4 feet off the grownd an the ramp was 5 feet long. No joke it was damn near strate up an down. So do you just go an hang out in these countrys or what? Good luck man hope you have a blast

Yeah man i was in mexico last year w my gf at playa del carmen their idea of ramps are pretty fun!
I like to go and just soak it up, get dragged round endless shops an markets by the gf, do a lot of eating and drinking and a little bit of sight seeing ( i get bored after the first ruin/ temple lol) generally find a nice bar and see who turns up, or go to the big all night parties, drink buckets of cheap cocktails, mushroom shakes, watch people doing loads of stuff with fire and crawl home after you watch the sun come up!

[Imight]

wierd, you'd think in bangkok you'd have the easiest time. hmmmm
i can imagine streets being difficult, similar to the philippines i suppose.

im sure japan is accessible however. lol.

[MichEE]

I was in Japan, China and Korea for work in January. Japan was THE BEST. If you have been to Thailand you will never leave Japan!! The people are wonderful (a little too helpful at times but that is the culture there).

I had them STOP the escalator for me in the train station and they made everyone use the stairs. The escalator turned into a platform and I rode it to the top - funny though I usually just jump on the escalator and ride it anyway, up or down. I tried that and the security almost had a heart attack!!

The hotel is great and the toilet had a HEATED SEAT. Hey, so what if I couldn't feel it!!

I have co-workers there so e-mail me or PM me and let me know where you are staying. I can have them check out the hotel or what ever else you are doing.

[Kev-O]

 MichEE, on Dec 17 2007, 03:03 AM, said:

I was in Japan, China and Korea for work in January. Japan was THE BEST. If you have been to Thailand you will never leave Japan!! The people are wonderful (a little too helpful at times but that is the culture there).

I had them STOP the escalator for me in the train station and they made everyone use the stairs. The escalator turned into a platform and I rode it to the top - funny though I usually just jump on the escalator and ride it anyway, up or down. I tried that and the security almost had a heart attack!!

The hotel is great and the toilet had a HEATED SEAT. Hey, so what if I couldn't feel it!!

I have co-workers there so e-mail me or PM me and let me know where you are staying. I can have them check out the hotel or what ever else you are doing.

man i wish i had a job that sent me to all those places

[Califanna]

 MichEE, on Dec 16 2007, 07:03 PM, said:

I was in Japan, China and Korea for work in January. Japan was THE BEST. If you have been to Thailand you will never leave Japan!! The people are wonderful (a little too helpful at times but that is the culture there).

I had them STOP the escalator for me in the train station and they made everyone use the stairs. The escalator turned into a platform and I rode it to the top - funny though I usually just jump on the escalator and ride it anyway, up or down. I tried that and the security almost had a heart attack!!

The hotel is great and the toilet had a HEATED SEAT. Hey, so what if I couldn't feel it!!

I have co-workers there so e-mail me or PM me and let me know where you are staying. I can have them check out the hotel or what ever else you are doing.

Which hotel did you stay at? Also, when is the best time of year to travel to Japan? I would like to go next summer of 08, but everyone says the weather is nasty there during that time. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Califanna

[MichEE]

 Califanna, on Dec 18 2007, 02:28 AM, said:

Which hotel did you stay at? Also, when is the best time of year to travel to Japan? I would like to go next summer of 08, but everyone says the weather is nasty there during that time. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Califanna

I don't remember what hotel but I can look it up when I get back into work next week. I also work for a guy that has stayed there for several weeks. I can ask him about the weather. I was there in January and it was mild but not too cold. You'd need a coat. Around 40- 50F.

[Imight]

 MichEE, on Dec 22 2007, 08:30 PM, said:

 Califanna, on Dec 18 2007, 02:28 AM, said:

Which hotel did you stay at? Also, when is the best time of year to travel to Japan? I would like to go next summer of 08, but everyone says the weather is nasty there during that time. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Califanna

I don't remember what hotel but I can look it up when I get back into work next week. I also work for a guy that has stayed there for several weeks. I can ask him about the weather. I was there in January and it was mild but not too cold. You'd need a coat. Around 40- 50F.

Ive been looking to take a vacation to East Asia. I sort of figured japan would be accessible. How did you cope with the stares? I mean, they already stare at you for being a westerner, it must have been an ULTRA WTF for them to see you in a wheelchair, no? did you see any other wheelchair users by any chance?

How did you find the rode conditions? I use a manual chair but my biggest fears are curbs, or the lack of.

as for China. I have a friend in Fuzhou? and Chengdu-They've showed me podcasts of their city, but it really doesnt like that accessible imo. how did you get around? Im sure its impossible to get around with bicycle taxis, or even a regular taxi or taxi van. How did you pull that off??????

[KarenFerguson]

Hubby & I were in China a couple of years ago. The place was totally unaccessible. Forget curb cuts or anything resembling a ramp. Even with ramps there might be stairs at the other end (as we found out at our posh hotel. We rolled down the ramp and were met with three stairs, we laughed but were quite confused as well. They had to fetch a piece of wood for us to see the garden ... anyway ...).

Also, be prepared to be pushed everywhere! As michEE said, the culture is very helpful. They'll want to "help" you with everything. Also, be prepared to be stared at quite a lot. Disabled people in China (not quite sure about Japan) are rare to see in public.

Sorry to sound like such a Debbie Downer about China, I was just amazed at how inaccessible the place was. For all that new construction they couldn't add some curb cuts or ramps? Meh. Oh and forget about accessible transportation of any kind. I have this great picture of both of us in a little cab with our chairs folded up around us. Needless to say the driver was very "helpful" getting those chairs in the cab.

Good luck!

Edited by KarenFerguson, 29 January 2008 - 05:17 AM.

[hanguk]

I haven't been to Japan, China or Thailand. I have been to Korea. You don't see many disabled people out in public in most Asian countries because they tend to stay home with their families. You know how in Western countries people have a hard time understanding how we can be independent...this is even more true in Asia. In 4 trips to Korea I have seen about 2 disabled people out in public. Access is improving... but inconsistent.... first time I went (1992) I could not find a bathroom to use outside of the hotel room and the airport. I had to wear a Foley. By 2006 there were a lot more accessible bathrooms (even found one in the mountains). Traveling alone there is difficult. But I wouldn't let it stop you.. you'll have a great time and see a very different culture. If you have an AB to help you it's great...but if you don't, people there will help. They do stare though (in Korea, anyway...at any foreigner) and sometimes ask personal questions.

[bcat]

I'm in the process of planning a 3 week trip to Japan. I've found a number of hotels that offer accessible rooms in a few different cities. Most you'll need to call to request the room like I did earlier tonight. I've found some cities have more accessible hotels than others but being able to track down accessible hotels is a bit of a challenge since many of the english websites don't have a lot of information and most haven't been updated in a while.

The Shinkansen (bullet train) needs to be reserved at least 2 days in advance so they can prepare for your arrival / departure. Many of the train lines that have newer trains are accessible. Some train lines even have a list of phone numbers for the individual stations so you can call ahead to confirm access.

I've found overall accessibility varies greatly. Some places are decently accessible but most aren't especially the farther away from the core of the major cities you get.

[MichEE]

 bcat, on Mar 8 2008, 05:37 AM, said:

I'm in the process of planning a 3 week trip to Japan....
I've found overall accessibility varies greatly. Some places are decently accessible but most aren't especially the farther away from the core of the major cities you get.

Here are the hotels I stayed at during that trip in Jan 2007 if anyone is interested. All were very accessible.

I stayed in the Shinagawa Prince Hotel while in Toyko
Shinagawa Prince Hotel
10-30, Takanawa 4-chome
Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8611
Japan

Phone: 81-3-3440-1111
Fax: 81-3-3441-7092
Reservations Phone: 81-3-3449-9844
Reservations Fax: 81-3-5421-7888

When in China I stayed in
Courtyard Shunde
150 Qinghui Road, Daliang, Shunde District,
Foshan, Guangdong, Guangdong 528300 China
http://marriott.com/...pertypage/XZSCY

Guangzhou Jiangwan Hotel
No.298 Middle Yanjiang Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Hong Qiao Guest Hotel
591 Hong Qiao Road Shanghai, China

And Korea
Incheon Hyatt
2850-1 WOONSEO-DONG, JUNG-GU, INCHEON
TEL 032-745-1234
http://english.hyatt...ncyincheon.com/