Josh, an adult with cerebral palsy, reflects on his recent trip to Japan from an accessibility perspective.

In September 2024, some friends and I departed Australia for a two-week holiday exploring Japan. This article reflects on my experience of Japan’s accessibility from my perspective on this trip, in four key areas: Airports, Hotels, Transport, and Food. 

Airport and flight: 4/5 

The flight we chose was a budget airline and as expected it was not as flashy as the big airlines, but it was still manageable. Our flight included typical budget airline features—no in-flight entertainment and no meals (there was an option to purchase meals onboard, although I just ate before the flight). The flight was about seven hours with a brief stopover in Singapore and then another seven-ish hours' flight. The lack of in-flight entertainment did not really matter as I just used my tablet with movies downloaded as well as my e-reader.

Like most international flights there was a stopover both ways. My stopover was in Singapore for three hours on the way there and twelve hours on the way back. They do make you go through security when boarding your connecting flight which is where a DNA swab was used on my AFOs which is mostly a standard procedure, except for at Narita airport on the way home. I could just walk through without anyone batting an eyelid, which was nice.

Hotels Rating 3.5/5 

For the first and last few days, we stayed in Airbnb which is quite common in Japan. Airbnb’s are often in apartments with self-check-in and chat with the host available in the app. We did spend a while finding the combo keylock as they are usually hidden. The rest of the trip was hotel accommodation which was quite accessible to a standard you would expect from hotels. One of the hotels did have a virtual reception (during unstaffed reception hours) which was a tablet at the reception desk, where you communicate with hotel staff either through typing or WhatsApp calls.

Travel Rating: 4/5 

I was so excited to get a bullet train and it did not disappoint, so if my rating was just based on those it would be an easy 5/5. In total I caught three bullet trains and yes, they as fast as you would think! They do have bathrooms in each carriage although I am unsure if they had accessible ones as I didn’t check.

For the rest of our travel, we used local transport: a mixture of trains, buses, and trams while in Hiroshima (never have I been so excited to see a tram!), although we tried to avoid peak hour as Japan's trains are way overcrowded during this time. They even have dedicated station staff as pushers to help cram people into the train. The train stations themselves can be quite a maze with multiple exits and entrances. To get certain trains you have to make sure you are at the correct entrance as it is so easy to get lost inside the stations. 

Food 3/5 

Let me start this section by saying there is some amazing restaurants and local food in Japan, but the 7/11 in Japan is an experience. 7/11 is much more than the petrol station we know it to be as it has lots of ready-to-eat meals like sandwiches, sushi, and drinks. My favourite was a sandwich filled with cream cheese, strawberry, and kiwifruit, and of course the famous 7/11 egg sandwich.

One my trip companions was allergic to peanuts, so we weren’t that adventurous in the kind of food we ate, however we found as soon as they said they were allergic to peanuts or showed an allergy card, we were often shooed out of the restraint so we would go to trusty 7/11 as our default. When we did find success at restaurants was when instead of showing the allergy card, we started asking if there were peanuts used in the cooking process. The best places had an allergen matrix and seeing this being brought out was such a relief. 

This blog post has been provided by Cerebral Palsy Support Network in collaboration with My CP Guide. For more information about travel and holidaying as a person with cerebral palsy, My CP Guide hosts a variety of information resources. Browse the Leisure & Recreation category on My CP Guide to find other relevant resources.