Sightseeing and shopping information for people in wheelchairs

Town development has commenced in Takamatsu. Can wheelchair users enjoy sightseeing in the city? We toured Takamatsu with wheelchair users and here is a report on the garden and shopping street that is popular among tourists.

SpecialPlace of Scenic Beauty　Ritsurin Garden

Drive south from the central part of Takamatsu City. You will arrive at a Japanese-style garden where you can enjoy beautiful views with 1,000 pine trees and various flowers blooming seasonally.

Park the car in the special parking area for wheelchair users. Enter the garden from the East Gate.

It is recommended to be accompanied by a helper, because there are many gravel paths within the garden.

Map of Ritsurin Garden

The garden map indicates paths that have limited wheelchair accessibility.
The Ritsurin Garden website also shows these paths.
https://www.my-kagawa.jp/en/ritsurin/

The ticket counter is manned by volunteer tourist guides from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Ask them about the season's spots with beautiful views or recommended tour routes.

First, visit Commerce and Industry Promotion Hall, which preserves the atmosphere and appearance of the Meiji period. The building has been modified for wheelchair accessibility. Exhibits explain the history of the park.

Follow the slope from the front to reach the Main Building.

See the open loan square at the North Building. The West Building has a café and restaurant. The East Building features exhibits and wheelchair accessible restrooms.

Go to the café via the corridor that connects to the Main Building, because the outdoor entrance of the café at the West Building has an uneven surface. There is no need to transfer from a wheelchair to an ordinary chair at some tables.

For a nice view, go to the balcony on the second floor of Commerce and Industry Promotion Hall.

Use the elevator with two entrances.
There is about a 10 cm difference between the floor and the balcony. However, the balcony is about 170 cm-wide.

"It is a shame about the difference, however, the large panoramic view is nice."
Feel the gentle breeze while watching the beautifully finished garden with crane and turtle pine trees (tsurukame-matsu) and box pines (hako-matsu).

Walking in the South Garden.

There are some points that require support.

The number of wheelchair accessible paths is limited, however, the beauty of the garden is enjoyable. "It is difficult for us to visit places surrounded by trees, so we are happy to come here in wheelchairs."

It is relaxing to simply visit and pass the time at such a tranquil place surrounded by greenery and seasonal flowers.

After touring the garden, go to Ritsurin-An Gift Shop through the exit near the East Gate for lovely souvenirs.

Kagawa Prefectural Produce Shop　Ritsurin An

The shop offers many attractive foods and handicrafts of Kagawa. It is located outside the garden and can be accessed without an admission ticket.

The entrance near the gate is easy to use because it is auto door and not very slanted.

Signs for the different categories of merchandise hang from the ceiling, such as food and other goods. Easily find what you want without walking around.

The shop generally uses the lower shelves to display merchandise, although there are some high shelves. This allows customers to pick up merchandise and look around the entire shop.

Find your favorite Kagawa souvenir.

Shopping street in Marugame-machi

Takamatsu Chuo Shopping Street boasts the longest length in Japan (2.7 km). Almost the entire shopping street is covered by a roof, allowing visitors to enjoy shopping regardless of the weather.

In particular, Marugame-machi shopping street is safer for pedestrians, because bicycle riding is prohibited, unlike on other shopping streets.

Despite this, be careful at intersections where cars and bicycles are allowed to pass.

Marugame-machi Ichibangai-mae Dome Square is the crossing of three shopping streets.

Look up and see an impressive crystal dome ceiling. Look down and see a mosaic pavement.

The mosaic artwork, whose theme is "Peace", was created by Takeshi Kawashima, an artist based in Takamatsu.

Especially on weekends, various events take place in the square, which is unique to the city of art.

Stop at Machi no Schule 963 to take a break and shop.

This shop is organized by category: café, gallery, household goods, craft products and food.

Go past the escalator to use the elevator on the left behind it and arrive at the emporium on the second floor. The entrance door is slightly heavy, however, if you make an appeal to the staff they are happy to help you.

(Past exhibition)
The passages are designed to be wide for buggy users, too.

Tasteful, premium goods are the perfect souvenirs for you or others.

The large table in the center of the café is wheelchair accessible.

Try the lunch or homemade cakes to enjoy the seasonal foods of Kagawa.

Mr. Haruhito Tamura (Kagawa Branch of Spinal Injuries Japan) and Mr. Eiji Kawada worked with us to collect information for this article. They discovered nice souvenirs there.

Ideally, facilities and roads should be built and laid out to allow easy access for anyone. However, there are some inevitable limitations. Wheelchair users often have difficulty travelling smoothly. If the people around them were a little more considerate, it could contribute to the realization of universal design and barrier-free town development.