Accessible Japan
Is Japan accessible/to tourists with disabilities?// Josh Grisdale,/who runs the website Accessible Japan,/discusses this question.//
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　　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.//