An English website that offers detailed information on accessibility for disabled people at sightseeing spots in Japan is earning positive reviews.
Accessible Japan (www.accessible-japan.com) was created by Barry Joshua Grisdale, from Canada, who uses a wheelchair.
Grisdale, 37, of Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, visits tourist locations and summarizes the inconveniences he encounters on the website.
He plans to participate in an event organized by the ward office in May to discuss city development and give a speech about his perspectives as a disabled person.
Grisdale developed cerebral palsy when he was six months old. He began to have difficulty moving his hands and legs and started using an electric wheelchair at around the age of 4.
When he was a high school student in Canada, he met a teacher knowledgeable about Japan and became interested in the country.
Grisdale said he used to watch movies directed by Akira Kurosawa and TV shows starring Takuya Kimura, among other productions.
He traveled to Japan for the first time in 2000, visiting Sensoji temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo, and other spots. He recalled an incident at a subway station during the trip where he could not go down the stairs in a wheelchair and did not know what to do. A station employee asked him if he needed help, and six people carried him on his wheelchair -- which weighs more than 100 kilograms -- down the stairs.
"I was so glad to receive such hospitality, which is typical of Japan," he said.
Grisdale moved to Edogawa Ward in 2007. In 2012, he got a job through an acquaintance at Azalee Edogawa Intensive Care Nursing Home in the ward, where he manages the facility's website, among other responsibilities.
On his days off, he visited sightseeing spots across the country but always felt there were few English websites that offered information for disabled tourists. In 2015, he created the Accessible Japan website.
The website provides information on about 50 locations, including Ueno Park, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Tokyo Skytree.
In addition to information on the sites' attractions, the website overviews the locations of restrooms for the disabled, subway station exits with elevators and the size of toilets at hotels, among other details helpful to disabled people.
The website has received positive reviews from people overseas, including a user who was anxious about visiting Japan but was encouraged to travel to the country after reading information on the website.
Grisdale's activities caught the attention of the ward office, which invited him to Edogawa Edogiwa Kaigi, a series of seminars to engage young people in discussions about the future of the ward. Grisdale is scheduled to speak at the meeting in May.
He hopes to further improve his website ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
"By introducing Japan's attractions to disabled people abroad, I want to express my gratitude to the Japanese people who have helped me," he said.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
