What won me over most of all was the ease of traveling alone in my wheelchair. To get to the station’s concourse to begin with, sometimes you may need to take an elevator down from the street or inside a building. Twice I ran into a situation where instead of an elevator there was a wheelchair accessible escalator. It’s good exercise! This means that you rarely have to wait to for an elevator to be open. 99.9% of the population do not use elevators in the stations. Some elderly people and those with strollers or big luggage do but I saw numerous examples of the elderly climb stairs. You can also look for tactile paving (truncated domes) on the floor to help you find an elevator 50% of the time just be sure it is the right color/platform. The train system is very complex but stations color code everything and have signs with either a universal symbol and/or English translation to make navigating as easy as possible. Always walking around the station are train attendants that are there to assist so just ask. There is usually at least one person working that knows a little English if you have more questions. Every station has maps displayed to what lines are available and what area is covered as well as information booths that have maps you can take in English or whatever language you prefer showing the train routes and tourist attractions in the area. Train stations are resources for information, food, water, public restrooms, navigation and even shopping for pretty much anything. Train travel is the most popular way to get around Japan and for a tourist using a wheelchair, it is vital to explore attractions.
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