Interview with event organizer Miho Moriue
We spoke with Mio Moriue, who supports wheelchair users, about what motivates her work.
She told us about accessibility that allows everyone to enjoy sightseeing equally.
Meeting wheelchair users
What prompted you to start supporting wheelchair users?
Moriue (surname only)
I spent my early childhood with my grandmother, who used a wheelchair.
At age 50, my grandmother suffered a stroke that left her with hemiplegia. Using her left hand and left leg, which she could move to some extent, she crawled around the house.
When going out with the family, my grandmother would say, “I want to avoid going out because I’ll be a burden.” Her discouraged words left a strong impression on me.
At times, she would also become pessimistic, saying, “I can’t live without people helping me, so wouldn’t it be better if I were dead?”
Seeing the difficulties wheelchair users face in everyday life is what lies behind my actions.
Was there a reason you decided to share information about accessible environments?
Moriue
After entering the workforce, I worked at a hospital as a physical therapist.
I often had opportunities to interact with wheelchair users, and we could discuss facilities with accessible environments.
However, I hear people say that places such as accessible restrooms and priority parking spaces are actually difficult for wheelchair users to use.
I wondered why there were critical opinions when these places were supposed to be designed for everyone to use.
Looking back, my grandmother also avoided using public facilities designed for multiple purposes.
As I listened to wheelchair users, I began to reconsider the idea that improving the environment alone is not enough to ensure a happy life.
Experiencing emotional accessibility
What prompted you to take action?
Moriue
As questions about accessibility bubbled up inside me, I met Miyo Tatsuya, a wheelchair user.
At 18, Miyo suffered a neck fracture in a motorcycle accident, injuring his cervical spinal cord. Despite being left with paralysis in both arms and legs, he completed a round-the-world trip across 23 countries in nine months. The following year, he also traveled to Africa, visiting 27 countries.
Needless to say, traveling around the world is a grueling undertaking for wheelchair users.
When I asked Miyo why he had managed to complete his round-the-world trip, he said it was thanks to the consideration and hospitality of the people he met in cities around the world.
What do you keep in mind at your town-walk events?
Moriue
As I reflected on accessibility beyond improving the physical environment, I decided to take action and joined a town-walk event in Kyoto organized by the general incorporated association WheeLog.
The event took place during the Gion Festival, and the crowds made walking around in a wheelchair a challenging experience.
Most restaurants were full, and we couldn’t get in.
Even the curry restaurant we finally found seemed difficult to enter because there was a step inside.
However, the staff offered to help, and we were able to sit down. In the end, we all enjoyed a delicious curry meal.
Through that experience, I realized that even if the environment is not accessible, consideration for wheelchair users can still make a place accessible.
I also learned that accessibility created through kindness can leave a deeper impression.
Past efforts and what lies ahead
Can information about accessibility be gathered in Okayama Prefecture?
Moriue
After my experience walking around Kyoto, I began to wonder whether Okayama Prefecture also had accessibility that leaves a lasting impression, rather than just accessible facilities.
When I looked online, I found that there was almost no information about accessibility that leaves a lasting impression.
So I thought that if it didn’t exist, I could create it myself, and started events where wheelchair users and others walk around town together.
I organized events where wheelchair users and able-bodied people gather accessibility information together, so that the urgent concerns of wheelchair users could be heard.
Is there a reason you focus on tourism?
Moriue
I work as a physical therapist, and I believe it is also important for healthcare professionals to be involved in community development.
At events organized by healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide support, wheelchair users can have their concerns addressed and feel comfortable attending.
We can think about tourism while providing the support wheelchair users need.
I want to contribute to community development as a healthcare professional, creating opportunities for diverse people to visit Kurashiki. My goal is to serve as a bridge between the community and healthcare.
Visiting the Bikan Historical Area in a wheelchair
We often hear about community development that involves diverse people, but I feel that there are few concrete initiatives that include people with physical disabilities on an equal basis.
There are community development efforts focused on sustaining a rich quality of life for tourists and residents, but social welfare activities seem to be handled separately.
Perhaps existing community development efforts do not take into account people with physical disabilities, including wheelchair users.
A town is not for the majority; it is for everyone who lives and makes a life there.
I was reminded that there are many perspectives we have yet to recognize as we work toward a society that leaves no one behind.
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
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