Accessible Japan
Is Japan accessible/to tourists with disabilities? Josh Grisdale,/who runs the website Accessible Japan,/discusses this question.
1
When I was six months old,/I was diagnosed/with severe cerebral palsy. I have used an electric wheelchair/since I was four years old.
I was born in Canada/but now live in Tokyo,/working at a care facility. My job is to manage a website/for a group that runs nursing homes,/kindergartens,/and nursery schools.
You may wonder/why I came all the way to Japan/despite my physical condition. When I was in high school,/I took Japanese language classes. The more I studied about Japan,/the more I wanted to see Japan/with my own eyes.
In 2000,/I received a gift from my father:/a one-month trip to Japan! After doing a tour in Asakusa,/my father and I were on our way back to the hotel. We got to the subway entrance/but we couldn’t find an elevator. Not knowing what to do,/we asked where the elevator was. To our surprise,/six subway employees came/and carried me and my 130-kilogram wheelchair/down the stairs. I will never forget that experience. It was then/that I dreamed of making Japan my home.
Is Japan accessible/to tourists with disabilities? Josh Grisdale,/who runs the website Accessible Japan,/discusses this question.
1
When I was six months old,/I was diagnosed/with severe cerebral palsy. I have used an electric wheelchair/since I was four years old.
I was born in Canada/but now live in Tokyo,/working at a care facility. My job is to manage a website/for a group that runs nursing homes,/kindergartens,/and nursery schools.
You may wonder/why I came all the way to Japan/despite my physical condition. When I was in high school,/I took Japanese language classes. The more I studied about Japan,/the more I wanted to see Japan/with my own eyes.
In 2000,/I received a gift from my father:/a one-month trip to Japan! After doing a tour in Asakusa,/my father and I were on our way back to the hotel. We got to the subway entrance/but we couldn’t find an elevator. Not knowing what to do,/we asked where the elevator was. To our surprise,/six subway employees came/and carried me and my 130-kilogram wheelchair/down the stairs. I will never forget that experience. It was then/that I dreamed of making Japan my home.