Mobility Scooter Rental Experience in Tokyo – March 2018
Mobility Scooter Rental in Tokyo during cherry blossom
UPDATE: 11 December 2022
Earlier this year in March, I once again visited Tokyo on a trip through Japan. Like last time, I decided to rent a mobility scooter for 12 days from Marudai Motor Company in Asakusa.
Cruising through Ueno Park on a mobility scooter
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The following post is not sponsored!
Why rent a mobility scooter and not come with your own?
Mobility scooters still aren’t very common for disabled people in Japan. From time to time I saw elderly Japanese on tiny mobility scooters, but there are way more wheelchairs on the streets than scooters. Major Japanese railway companies have very strict rules and only accept mobility scooters purchased or rented in Japan. Tokyo Metro, JR East, JR West as well as JR Central are definitely rigorous with these rules. This means riding the JR Lines in Tokyo, like the Yamanote Line, or using Tokyo Metro can be quite difficult or impossible with your own mobility scooter.
UPDATE : The Policy Bureau and Railway Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has established rules for the “Use of Mobility Scooters on Trains”. These rules are in effect from April 1, 2018. Please make sure to read them before you travel to Japan with your mobility scooter!
My mobility scooter rental experience with Marudai Motor Company
With the team of Marudai Motor Company in Tokyo
Having already had a very good experience with Marudai Motor Co. in October 2016, I again contacted the owner, Mr. Okura, about 6 months prior to our Japan trip via email. I chose to have the mobility scooter delivered right to our hotel in Shinjuku and let him know our arrival date and the suggested delivery time. Same for the pick-up. I also emailed them a scan of my passport.
My personal experience with Marudai Motor Company was very satisfying twice. There weren’t any problems at all and I fully enjoyed cruising through Tokyo independently.
Mobility Scooter Rental Prices in 2018 (subject to change – no liability):
- 18,000 YEN for up to 14 days (fixed, i. e. if you stay 10 days you still pay 18,000 YEN)
- 10,000 YEN for hotel delivery & pick-up (inside 23 wards of Tokyo)
- 15,000 YEN for hotel delivery & pick-up outside the mentioned area (including Narita Airport)
It is good to know, that you have to pay in cash. Paying in cash is the common means of payment in Japan. Japanese pay everything in cash, even high amounts.
How to ride JR or subway trains in Tokyo with a rented mobility scooter
Riding a JR line in Tokyo on my rented mobility scooter
You will get a certificate written in Japanese upon delivery of the mobility scooter. This certificate is of high value! It allows you to ride all JR trains as well as the subway in Tokyo. So better not lose it!
Here is an example of such a certificate:
Certificate for using JR & Metro in Tokyo with a mobility scooter
You have to present this certificate to the station staff each time you intend to ride the JR or Tokyo Metro. Tell them where you would like to go and ask for a slope. “Slope” (スロープ) is the magic term if you need a ramp in order to board a train. A station staff member will guide you to the train platform and help you to board. Someone will wait with the ramp at your destination to get you out of the train (see photos here).
The rental mobility scooter meets all requirements in size. It perfectly fits in the wheelchair area on JR and subway trains. Of course, it also fits in the stations’ elevators which can be quite small.
We even took a train to Kamakura with the mobility scooter and had no problems at all. I also visited Tokyo Skytree with it. It is good to know that the presentation of the certificate can also help you save some money (public gardens, attractions, private gardens). Just show it each time you have to pay an entry fee. Never know…!
The certificate could also “save your day”… or your evening! One time we wanted to enter a Tempura restaurant in Asakusa with the mobility scooter. Well, at first the waitress refused… until we showed her the certificate, which made her immediately change her attitude. Our tempura was delicious!
Let me know your experiences by leaving a comment below
and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about mobility scooter rental in Tokyo!
Tu ne pouvais pas être plus claire ! Que des avantages…Et en plus , scooter très design: Pour toi et bien d’autres une qualité de vie où tu passes partout et même avec des avantages de ne pas payer certaines entrées.
Définitivement, les japonais semblent civilisés, personne n’est mis de côté !
Thank you for the encouraging words as I now need assistance with walking long distances as I age and knowing that I can rent and have delivered a Mobil scooter to my hotel is great! I will now be able to join the family enjoy Diseneyland and other attractions knowing I can do so with proper peparwork and your knowledge and experience of what I will expect and need to prepare for. For that thank you!
Thank you again Melanie for another terrific and informative article on your mobility experiences in Japan. I must compliment you for all the beautiful and helpful pictures in all your post. As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words! Thank you!
The pics of you in Ueno Park with all the cherry blossom trees surrounding you are awesome. We also saw cherry blossom trees in March when we visited, but we were on a strict schedule with our tour group, so we only saw them from the bus window or rushing through a parking lot. We hope to “cruise” through Ueno Park during cherry blossom season one day too. And all your info on Marudai Motors, Mr. Okura, the certificate, and the station staff help are just so invaluable! We definitely feel more confident, and less worried about our Tokyo metro and subway rides with my wheelchair in Oct. when we visit. Can’t wait to grind some delicious TEMPURA too! Domo Arigato!
Melanie, thank you for this post. I used Marudai Motor Company based on your initial Facebook response and the electric wheelchair could not have been cleaner or newer. Everything was immaculate. The owner was patient and answered every question, extremely responsive. I ended up returning the wheelchair to another hotel and he was receptive to pickup from Tokyo or even Narita airport (for an additional fee).
I would use Marudai again in a heartbeat! Thank you for your blog and wonderful, informative posts.
Dear Melanie,
I will travel to japan in april and have a plan to rent mobility scooter for my wife. Could you please inform me the email adress of the representative of Marudai? Therefore I could ask many things about their services.
Regards,
Nanto
Thank you for this article! I will be travelling with my mother and was concerned based on my initial research that we would have to get her a wheelchair while we visited in April! So glad to see that will not be the case. This was very informative and helpful. Thank you so much! Christy
Oh my goodness, I am so glad i found you on Instagram, which led me to this blog. As I plan my Tokyo trip in the Fall (I have never been there), info you have put out is really useful! Thanks! Accsble from Instagram 🙂
Thank you for your info on Marudai Motor Comp regarding scooter rentals, certificate, and info on how to ride the JR lines and Yamanote Lines. Now I will get in touch with them.
Dear Evangeline,
I’m happy that this post was helpful! Enjoy your stay!
If you’re ever in Los Angeles, we would love to help you out! Wonderfully written blog, keep enjoying life!
Hi, Melanie. My family and I will be in Japan this October 2023, and I was planning to buy a mobile scooter, its a good thing you wrote how strict they are in allowing scooters brought in by tourists. Can I please have the contact details of Marudai so I can do advanced booking? Btw, how long does the battery lasts? Thanks again.
This is such a helpful post! I’ve been searching the Internet to find something helpful about scooters in Japan. As I can walk a little bit im thinking to bring my fold up mobility scooter. Do you think this would be OK for getting around? Also when it comes to going into restaurants is there a rule of where you must leave mobility scooters, or can they be tied to railings? I have a scooter that folds to the size of a suitcase. And thanks again for being the most helpful post about mobility scooter.
Does anyone have the email address to organise the rental of a mobility scooter? tried on Marudai website, but nothing listed, and enquiry not going through.