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- Efforts of Accessible Tourism Tokyo, Inc.
Efforts of Accessible Tourism Tokyo, Inc. 6-14-23-14 Soshigaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Welfare vehicles that are wheelchair accessible
Managing Director Shuichi Hidaka and a welfare taxi user
Accompanying older adults and people with disabilities to hot springs, gravesides, and their hometowns in accessible taxis
Accessible Tourism Tokyo, Inc. is an accessible taxi operator founded with the mission of striving for a society where everyone—including older adults, people with physical disabilities, and people with communication difficulties—can travel with freedom and enjoyment. Under the brand name “Tokyo Sanpo Assisted Travel Service,” the company provides transportation services in a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and assistance from a driver with a caregiver certification, and works to disseminate information on accessible tourism.
The company’s core business is providing transportation and assistance to older adults receiving home care. At the request of their families, the company assists these individuals in making trips such as traveling to hot spring resorts, visiting graves, and temporarily returning to their hometowns. However, the company also offers outings for residents of paid care homes, transportation services for foreign visitors to Japan, and assisted travel support, as well as operating an accessible room search engine(Japanese only) on its website(Japanese only) and handling inquiries. We spoke with Shuichi Hidaka, managing partner of Accessible Tourism Tokyo, Inc., a company that helps older adults and people with disabilities who have difficulty getting around to fulfill their travel dreams.
Seating layouts of the accessible vehicle(Source: Toyota Motor Corporation website)
Welfare vehicles that are wheelchair accessible
Managing Director Shuichi Hidaka and a welfare taxi user
Seating layouts of the accessible vehicle(Source: Toyota Motor Corporation website)
Hidaka when he was traveling around the world(in Jaisalmer, India)
I decided to start an accessible taxi service after seeing so many people give up on the trips they wanted to take
After traveling around Japan and the world, mainly in Southeast Asia, from the age of 22, I worked for 16 years in an intensive care home for the elderly. From my own experience as a travel enthusiast, I have always wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the experience of travel. Unfortunately, I have seen many people give up on traveling or going out because they cannot get the support they need, such as transportation or care assistance. Even people who were once able to get out and about with minimal assistance may, over time, be forced to stop due to the physical or medical demands of age or progressive illness. While I regretted not being able to do anything at the time, I also believed that I could solve the problem with the help of knowledgeable outside experts. I decided to start a business that provided accessible taxi transportation and driver-assisted care support. My experience of being able to travel freely drove me to ensure that fewer people give up on trips they want to take. In addition to obtaining a Class II driver’s license for mid-sized motor vehicles, which would serve as the means of transport, I also obtained the Comprehensive Certified Travel Supervisor certification in anticipation of future needs, and founded the current company in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hidaka when he was traveling around the world(in Jaisalmer, India)
I struggled to get the word out about the accessible taxi assisted outing service
Initially, I started the company with the idea of focusing on providing assistance for outings to elderly nursing home residents who were in need of care. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for this service was almost non-existent due to visitation bans, curfews, and a mood of voluntary restraint in travel. Even when I tried to reach out to new customers, I found that many of my target customers were not familiar with the internet, social media, or other forms of digital information, and I struggled to get the word out that accessible taxis and care support could help them to travel and go out. At the time, while the use of accessible taxis for daily transportation to and from hospitals and care facilities was well recognized, few people used accessible taxis for personal outings such as sightseeing, attending events, dining, and shopping. I also encountered difficulties in collecting information about the accessibility of tourist attractions, restaurants, and accommodation facilities, which is now posted in the “Useful Apps and Websites”(Japanese only) section of the website.
The accessible taxi assisted outing service became a new style of travel for social distancing
Because I felt that it was difficult for people to get information about the accessible taxi assisted outing service through the website alone, I engaged in promotional activities such as distributing pamphlets to nearby families receiving in-home care and placing ads in magazines focused on care information. During that time, I marketed the idea of going out and sightseeing using accessible taxis as a new style of socially-distanced travel for the COVID-19 pandemic. I also changed the brand name to “Tokyo Sanpo Assisted Travel Service” with the strategy of creating an image for the assisted outing service.
In addition, I found a way to optimize the website using keywords such as “care assisted travel in Tokyo,” “wheelchair travel in Tokyo,” and “barrier-free travel in Tokyo,” so that it would rise to the top of searches. I also tried to provide information that would help people easily visualize the assisted outing service by posting actual testimonials from customers who used the service on the website under “Customer Testimonials” and receiving photos from service users to introduce their trips in an easy-to-understand manner. Thanks to these steady efforts, inquiries are now increasing from both domestic and overseas markets. The company also had the opportunity to participate in the online exhibition of the 2020 Accessible Tourism Tokyo Promotion Symposium, and our efforts are gradually beginning to be recognized.
In the future, we will also provide on-site hair styling, makeup, and manicures to enhance the travel experience
We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from abroad, and I hope that in the future wheelchair users visiting Tokyo from abroad will be able to enjoy sightseeing here to their heart’s content. For this to happen, we need to further strengthen our current efforts to collect and disseminate information on the accessibility of accommodation facilities and make our website a more reliable search engine. I believe that we need to disseminate information not only about accommodation, but also about accessible taxis as a means of transportation assistance.
Last year, I accompanied a man with a disability on a trip to New Caledonia as care supporter. I would like to focus more on such travel companion services, not only on being a taxi driver. Recently, we have even launched services that boost the mood of a trip, such as providing on-site hair styling, makeup, and manicure services to elderly women in need of nursing care prior to a trip.
We would like to keep considering various services that enable everyone to enjoy traveling with peace of mind safely and comfortably.
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Tokyo, a city that is accessible everywhere to anyone.
Sightseeing where you wish, as you wish.
This ability to travel anywhere you please makes life that much richer.
Tokyo welcomes your visit.
Here you can encounter tradition,
history, culture, nature, technology,
and, best of all, smiling faces.
Making tourism closer and more
enjoyable through accessible tourism.