A travel agency that fully supports their clients’ desire to travel

Ohayo Travel Corporation was founded in 2018 as a travel agency for those who need assistance with daily living due to their age, as well as for those who need some type of travel assistance due to an illness or disability. The agency mainly provides travel consulting and customized travel planning and arrangements for nursing homes and people with disabilities. Ohayo Travel also provides services for foreign visitors to Japan, such as planning and arranging accessible tours and renting out travel assistive devices. In addition, they provide training such as “Universal Hospitality Training,” which teaches the basics of travel assistance for people with disabilities and tips for walking tour guides, with the aim of developing human resources. The agency also hosts the “Subcommittee for the Promotion of Universal Tourism and Regional Development through the Declaration to Improve the Travel Environment for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities,” which is a part of the SDGs for Regional Revitalization Public-Private Partnership Platform, and works to increase the number of regions engaged in universal tourism through widespread adoption of the Universal Hospitality Declaration. We spoke with Kuniyasu Nomura, Representative Director of Ohayo Travel Corporation, about the agency’s efforts to fully support their clients’ desire to travel.

Why I founded this business

A respected mentor once told me, “Nobody gets old because they want to. And not everyone is born with perfect health. Even if we are healthy today, there will surely come a day when we have trouble walking or even standing as well as we would like to. Everyone has the potential to become elderly or disabled. It is our duty, while we are still healthy, to be there for the people who need our support right now.” When I heard this, I wondered: Is there anything I could or should do right now? I found myself thinking about something my grandfather, whom I loved very much, said to me shortly before his death: “I want to see Mt. Fuji.”

At the time, my grandfather was 97 years old and confined to his bed after breaking his femur for the second time. Without thinking, I casually asked him if he wanted anything. I did not expect his answer to be, “I want to see Mt. Fuji one more time.” I was at a loss as to how to respond. I told myself that it would be too difficult for my grandfather in his condition and left it at that. Yet, that experience has weighed on my mind ever since.

To shake off my regrets from that time, in my late 40s, I resigned from the company where I had been working until then and started my current job at the age of 51. I chose the name “Ohayo Travel” for the company in the hope that our clients could experience waking up with an “Ohayo!” (good morning!) to the sound of birds singing and sunlight streaming through the window, filled with excitement for the trip ahead.

Efforts in accessible tourism for foreign visitors to Japan

For a long time, we were also interested in providing travel services for people wanting to visit Japan from abroad. We have therefore taken measures such as creating an English version of our website, participating in meetings of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) to exchange information with overseas members who are working to promote accessible tourism in Europe, and participating in events related to accessible tourism overseas to spread information about the travel environment for elderly and disabled travelers in Japan. As a result of these efforts, inquiries about accessible rooms and accessible taxis in Japan and requests for travel arrangements, which were few at first, have gradually increased since the spring of 2023, mainly from clients in Europe and the United States. These services have since become a major part of Ohayo Travel’s business.

Specific services we provide include (1) listening to the client’s needs and responding in detail to inquiries, (2) suggesting specific itineraries and calculating costs, (3) making arrangements for confirmed trips, and (4) providing support while in Japan. While these are all detailed tasks that do not allow for mistakes, we place particular emphasis on listening to the client and providing support during their stay. We are able to provide customized services by interviewing each client to confirm the state of their disability (what struggles they have due to their symptoms) and the purpose of their trip (what they want to do). During their trip, we strive to provide 24/7 assistance, whenever possible, to alleviate their concerns and help them truly enjoy their stay in Japan.

However, there are a few challenges as well. Although we have some information about specific tourist attractions, major transportation systems, and accommodations, we cannot determine whether the environment there will be truly enjoyable for our client without checking the latest conditions and visiting in person, so we must be very careful when we suggest tourist attractions. In addition, some tourist attractions have areas that are not fully accessible, and it can take a long time to arrange a trip that meets the client’s needs.

Overcoming these challenges also has its benefits. Foreign visitors need customized tours to enjoy accessible tourism in Japan, and although the workload is higher than for regular travel arrangement services, clients who request such tours tend to stay longer and are more flexible in terms of cost. Above all, it is our greatest pleasure when a client leaves Japan and tells us, “Thanks to you, I had a very enjoyable trip,” or “I hope to come back to Japan again.”

Creating an environment for accessible tourism:Rental of travel assistive devices and human resource development

We started a wheelchair rental service in response to requests from foreign visitors who wanted to rent wheelchairs while in Japan. We work with an assistive device rental company to provide this service, and while the focus is on manual and electric wheelchair rentals, we also offer patient lifts for transferring clients from a wheelchair to a hotel bed. We believe that the need for smooth wheelchair-to-bed transfers using patient lifts will continue to grow.

There is also a need to develop “hospitality personnel” who are trained to assist the elderly and people with disabilities at each destination while guiding sightseeing tours. In this regard, we have been holding monthly “Universal Hospitality Training” sessions since 2020. So far, we have held nearly 30 sessions with over 200 cumulative participants. Participants tour popular spots listed in the Tokyo Sightseeing Accessibility Guide while assisting wheelchair users and other people with disabilities in real life. The training is provided by universal tourism specialists who aim to equip participants with three skills: (1) safe and secure travel assistance, (2) guiding techniques to make travel more enjoyable, and (3) careful preparation and flexible itinerary management. Unlike classroom training, learning these assistive techniques at actual tourist attractions helps participants gain confidence through hands-on experience.

As a member of the Japan Universal Tourism Network

In order to expand travel initiatives for the elderly and people with disabilities, we believe it is essential to collaborate with domestic and international agencies and groups who are experienced and passionate about accessible tourism. In Japan, there is an organization called the Japan Universal Tourism Network, which has 32 member organizations nationwide. This organization is working to build a nationwide service that will provide accessibility information and assistance to travelers, with member organizations working closely together to achieve this goal. The network functions as a travel consultation service for seniors and people with disabilities at various tourist attractions. Our agency is the contact point for the Tokyo and Tama areas. Such a consultation service is essential for the development of an accessible tourism environment, and we intend to continue to grow this network and improve the quality of the services we provide as a member.