Originally Posted by
abmj-jr
Japan is a first world country. They have these things called cabs. Unless you are really headed out into the inaka to some mountaintop temple or somethng, you will be able to just have a cab deliver you right to the front door of virtually anyplace you are likely to stay.
...and for that matter, every Japanese inaka mountaintop temple I've stayed in (Mt. Maguro, Mt. Koya, Sounkyo, etc) has been accessible by paved road.
The only place I have ever had a problem with a rolling bag is in some of the larger cities where they don't have crosswalks but rather pedestrian overpasses, some of which don't have elevators. Hauling the bag up those stairs can be a chore.
Quite a few older subway and train stations are like this as well. There's often (but not always) a lift lurking somewhere, but rarely in the direction of the exit you're trying to take.