jib71

The Four Seasons Marunouchi is in a building immediately next to Tokyo Station. It's on the south east corner of the huge station complex. [Beware, you'll come across many maps that are rotated and don't indicate North]. This area to the east of the tracks is the "Yaesu" side (after a Dutch guy). The other side of the tracks is called the "Marunouchi" side.

So why is this place called the Four Seasons Marunouchi? Ask a real estate agent.

Walking time to see the Palace moat (several blocks to the west of Tokyo station) is about 10 minutes. To get to a gate where you can actually enter the Palace gardens is about 15 minutes. Going in the opposite direction, Ginza is within 10 minutes walk too.

I think this is probably a good area for a wheelchair user to get around. The sidewalks are wide and surfaces are pretty even. Much of the Marunouchi side is closed to cars during lunch times. Many buildings around there are very new and, therefore, have ramps and facilities for wheelchair users. Since I haven't actually wandered these streets in a chair, I may be missing something, but I think that this is about as good as it gets from a wheelchair accessibility point of view.

Tokyo station and the nearby subway stations form a "hub" from which you have train lines going to all parts of Tokyo and the rest of the country.

Airport access is also pretty unbeatable. All Narita Express trains stop at Tokyo Station. The N'EX platforms are about five floors below ground on the Marunouchi side, so you'll take a couple of elevators. The hotel has a meet and greet service if you feel you need that. As you've observed, the hotel's service ethic is remarkable.

What's not to like? Not much really. It's an expensive part of town. It can feel a little "artificial" - all designer brands and high rise buildings. I can't think of any other negatives.

robyng

What type of room/suite would you be in in the Four Seasons? Have you seen pictures of the bathroom facilities? Robyn

WheelieFlyer

It's a "Premier King Room" - barrier free according to the agent. He aslo says they can move a roll-away bed in there. I did not ask for pictures since he said it was designed for wheelchairs but you are right - it might be wise to do so!

From jib71's response it looks like the area itself is pretty good.

NewbieRunner

This looks like the room in question. The one shown has two queen beds but the room the OP reserved must have one king bed.

http://www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/acc.../premier_room/

Here's the result of a Google image search for "Four Seasons Marunouchi Premier Room" in Japanese. Unfortunately not all the images are actually from the Four Seasons Marunouchi but most of them are.

WheelieFlyer

Thanks for that NewbieRunner. However, I never trust the pictures on hotel websites - the co-relation between the picture and the room you actually get seems very low, not to mention wide-angle trickery and so on. However, the 4S sent me a floor plan of the room complete with dimensions. Firstly, it looks like the bathroom will work for me, but would present challanges to someone in a power chair or unable to do a 180 degree transfer to the toilet. Secondly, fitting a rollaway in there for the kids is going to be a bit tight - but still possible.

WheelieFlyer

Another advantage of the 4S is it seems to be right beside the train station and it seems we can get the N'EX all the way from NRT. I looked at the English version of the N'EX website and it seems to be accessible

NewbieRunner

I understand what you are saying but many of the pictures I linked are those which appeared in Japanese blogs taken by people who actually stayed there. They are still subject to wide-angle trickery, etc.

However, I can see from this picture and these that the bathroom could be a challenge. Some more photos of the bathroom.

jenpdx

These are pictures of a regular bathroom in this particular room type, not an accessible one. The pictured bathroom would not work for someone who can't walk, because you can't fit your wheelchair into the toilet or shower stalls. The bathroom in the accessible room will be completely different from what these pictures show, and likely include appropriate features (grab bars, turning space next to the toilet, a roll-in shower, roll-under sink, etc). If exact design features are of concern, I would recommend contacting the property -- but FWIW, every Japanese "multipurpose"/accessible room I've encountered has been excellent.

Lol, it is, but this is the only time the efficient Japanese rail system let us down. We only took it to Narita, so didn't realize that it required reservation of a specific wheelchair compartment. We bought a ticket at a machine, and were waved through the gate (normally, the gate attendant will summon someone who takes you to the platform and onto the train). We made it to the platform and asked someone with a uniform, who obviously had no idea what to do with us. He loaded us at the very end of the train, right next to the conductor's compartment. There's no wheelcahir compartment here, and the aisle between the seats isn't wide enough for a wheelchair, so we spent the entire trip in the luggage compartment. Lesson: Stand in line to buy your tickets and have an attendant board you.

NewbieRunner

I wasn't sure if the OP has actually booked an accessible room. So, of course, the pictures show the regular bathroom of a Premier Room at the Four Seasons.

robyng

The Premier Deluxe Room is a fair amount larger than the Premier Room - but perhaps there are only handicap accessible bathrooms in the Premier Rooms. Worth checking out. FWIW - the Premier King can come with 2 queen beds or 1 king bed. Don't know which you would prefer - but - again - that decision may hinge on the bathroom availability.

Note that FSM has a meet and greet service at the airport. Your greeter will help you when you arrive - and put you either on a train or a limo-bus (your choice). A porter will meet you upon arrival at the train station or the limo-bus stop. Likewise - a porter will help you when you are returning to the airport. It's a great service IMO. Cost us $25/pp when we were there in 2006. Don't know what it costs today - or how children are treated for purposes of fees. Robyn

robyng

Those pictures are of the bathroom in the Deluxe Premier Room (tub sticks into the middle of room). If you look at the floor plan of the Premier Room (http://www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/acc.../premier_room/ - the tub is against the wall. Perhaps that it why the OP was offered a Premier Room. Robyn

robyng

Yes - the station is next door (many rooms have a view of train tracks ) and it's accessible. But - as jenpdx pointed out - there may be problems in terms of right train/right ticket. I think the meet and greet service could really help you out in this regard. Robyn

jib71

It's just my opinion, but I think meet and greet service is unnecessary - The lesson I take from Jen's post is that wheelchair users should buy tickets from a human being rather than from a machine, to ensure that the ticket is for a specific location on the train that's suitable for wheelchairs. After that, JR will provide an attendant to assist with boarding the train, so I think a meet and greet person is overkill. Of course, YMMV.

NewbieRunner

You are right. They must be from the Deluxe Premier Room. I just followed the captions in Japanese which didn't differentiate between Premier and Deluxe Premier rooms.

Looking at the floor plan I don't think the Premier Room bathrooms are any better since the toilet appears to be in a separate compartment within the bathroom.

FWIW I have found a list of wheelchair accessible (Tokyo) accommodation in Japanese. Google Translate should at least give you an idea of what might be available. Note the list may be out of date (last updated January 2008).

http://translate.google.com/translat...yo%2Findex.htm
(Some photos available if you click through, e.g. Hotel Nikko, New Hankyu, Westin, Hilton, Keio Plaza)

Some of them only mention accessible toilets in public area but not in guest rooms.

RichardInSF

The 4S is close by foot, but to get to the east gardens that is open to the public, it's probably close to 1km total walking involved.

No one has mentioned the Park Hyatt yet but I have never been in any regular room or entry level suite there -- and I've been in a lot of them! -- that wasn't accessible except for the bathtub (the separate shower is). There are wide sliding doors leading into the bathroom. However, you would have to check with management to see if they'd let you all stay in one room (most rooms have two double beds but posted capacity is 3 adults).