Wheelchair accessible MUST SEES in Tokyo

After telling you about Tokyo’s accessibility in general in my last post, I’d like to show you some great things to do and see. Tokyo is a wheelchair-accessible paradise compared to many other cities I’ve been to.

 

1.) Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine

 

Yoyogi Park is known for its Meiji Shrine. The park is wheelchair accessible, and there are enough wheelchair restrooms, too. We saw some nice flower exhibitions on our way through the park. The Meiji Shrine has a wheelchair-accessible ramp so that everyone can enjoy the site. We saw cute little girls in traditional kimonos and also a boy dressed in his yukata.

 

2.) Harajuku – Takeshita Dori (Jap./street) and cat street

 

Harajuku is a popular shopping paradise for young people. It’s right next to Yoyogi park, so you could easily combine these two activities. Prices are not too expensive, and there’s also an excellent choice of restaurants, fast food outlets, crepe shops (French pancakes) and so on. Takeshita Dori is the heart of Harajuku’s most extreme teenage fashion and lifestyle culture. There are lots of different fashion boutiques, used clothes stores and you can even find a big 100-Yen shop. The street itself is narrow and usually crowded. It can get a little tight to maneuver yourself through the masses. But it’s absolutely worth it and definitely one of Tokyo’s many must-sees. You can also visit Cat Street which is less crowded than Takeshita Dori. On Cat Street, you’ll see much more Japanese fashionistas than tourists.

 

 

3.) Ueno Park and Ueno Zoo

 

Ueno Park is one of my favorite spots in Tokyo. It is a spacious public park with a beautiful lake and many different attractions. The lake is covered with lotus flowers. You can take the Shinobazu pond to cross it. The whole area is wheelchair accessible, and there are newly built accessible restrooms.

Ueno Zoo is just next to Ueno Park. If you like going to zoos you should give it a try as this is Japan’s oldest one. The sometimes hilly area is fully wheelchair accessible with enough restrooms.

 

 

4.) Asakusa

 

Asakusa offers many cool spots to discover. You can still feel the atmosphere of Tokyo’s past decades, and maybe you’ll see some Sumos or even Geishas. The Buddhist Sensoji Temple is very popular and the heart of Asakusa. The temple is approached via Nakamise street, a shopping street offering loads of souvenirs and traditional local snacks. The temple itself is equipped with a wheelchair-accessible ramp. Of course, there are also accessible toilets for wheelchair users.

 

 

5.) Shibuya

 

Shibuya is the busy pulse of Tokyo. The famous Shibuya crossing, next to JR’s Hachiko Exit, is the biggest crossing in the world and up to 2500 people cross each time when the lights turn green. However, even during rush hour, everyone stays remarkably calm and polite. There’s no pushing and people are totally ordered! We spent the evening of Halloween in Shibuya and had to cross. Police officers took care of the five crosswalks as there were so many people everywhere. The police gave the signal, and the masses started moving. I was scared in my small mobility scooter, but I safely made it to the other side.

 

 

We also visited the statue of Hachiko. Maybe you’ve already heard the name, or you’ve seen the movie with Richard Gere? Hachiko was an Akita dog known for its loyalty to his owner, a professor at the University of Tokyo. Each night, this remarkable dog awaited his owner’s return and appeared precisely when the train arrived at Shibuya Station. One day the professor died and didn’t return. For more than nine years Hachiko still came back every night to wait for his owner.

 

 

Of course, there are much more must-sees and nice places to visit in Tokyo! In the next post, I’ll tell you about the differences between Tokyo Sky Tree and Tokyo Tower.

 

Have you already been to Japan? What did you experience? Leave a comment below or send a message to share your thoughts. Stay tuned!