Three years ago, in 2022, I covered “Tonarino Kobo,” a workshop that makes wheelchairs, for a work assignment.
The warmth of its representative and their sincere approach to craftsmanship left a lasting impression on me, and I had hoped to meet them again someday.
When people hear “wheelchairs,” they may think of a highly specialized field that concerns only a limited number of people. But I wondered whether letting more people know about the products made here and the company’s work might help someone.
With that in mind, I decided to ask for another interview.
The information in this article was current when it was published in January 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Tonarino Kobo
Bisei Town, Ibara City, is located in southwestern Okayama Prefecture.
Tonarino Kobo is in this town, known for the beauty of its starry skies. It is a small workshop specializing in custom-made wheelchairs mainly for children aged 0 to 18.
Though “small,” it has all the skills and equipment needed to make wheelchairs, from sewing and woodworking to assembly and molding, and makes everything in-house.
Representative Chinami Oki is from Osaka.
After studying woodworking at a vocational training school in Gifu Prefecture, she gained experience at a wooden furniture manufacturer. In 1990, she joined Noi Kobo, which makes equipment for people with disabilities.
She later continued her work in Toyama and Fukuoka, and in 1992, through a fortunate connection, came to Bisei Town, Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture.
She established Tonarino Kobo after becoming independent from her previous workplace. It began as a sole proprietorship and incorporated three years later. For the past 30 years, it has been guided by the belief in “craftsmanship that supports users throughout their lives.”
Today, together with seven staff members, including Oki’s partner, the workshop makes wheelchairs tailored to each person’s life.
Products
The main products are original wheelchairs and buggies.
The workshop also makes indoor assistive equipment to support everyday life, such as shower chairs and car seats, as well as accessories that make using a wheelchair more comfortable.
These include sunshades and tables that attach to buggies, and cushions that help stabilize a seated position—items that are useful not only for wheelchair users themselves, but also for those who care for and support them.
How the Products Are Made
All of Tonarino Kobo’s wheelchairs and buggies are custom-made.
Orders for wheelchairs come through hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. The process begins with a detailed assessment at the hospital of the child’s body type, condition, and lifestyle. Based on this information, a specification sheet is prepared, and each wheelchair is then made by hand at the workshop.
A Strength in “Coordinating” to Think About the Future Together
One of Tonarino Kobo’s key features is its “dedicated staff member system.”
The staff member who takes an order handles the entire process, from measurements and manufacturing to fitting and delivery. Even after delivery, the workshop values having that staff member, who knows the user well, continue to provide support and take responsibility for it.
The reason, as Oki puts it, is that “there is a real need for coordination with a long-term perspective”: wheelchairs are used for a long time, with repairs along the way.
Users range from newborns onward, and each person needs adjustments or a replacement as they grow and their living environment changes.
Families using a wheelchair for the first time are often filled with anxiety because they cannot see what they will need at first or what life will be like after leaving the hospital. At such times, an important part of Tonarino Kobo’s role is to think together about what is needed now, what can wait, and what to prepare for in the future.
“It’s only natural that the mother of a three-year-old wouldn’t know what kind of wheelchair her child will need when they start elementary school. But we might tell her, ‘You don’t need to rush; a buggy is enough for now,’ or look a little further ahead and suggest, ‘Let’s get this ready.’ That’s the kind of support people need,” Oki says.
Hearing stories like this, the words “supporting users with care and compassion” on Tonarino Kobo’s website come across as genuine, not just a slogan.
Developing Products Based on User Feedback
Three years have passed since the 2022 interview.
In that time, Tonarino Kobo has continued developing new products. Here are two of them.
“Butterfly Table” — A Side Table You Didn’t Know You Needed
The first is a side table.
In many households, there is nowhere to put equipment or nutritional supplements during suctioning or tube feeding, so it is not unusual to carry out these tasks on a child’s lap.
“Even when there’s a chair at the hospital, there often isn’t anywhere to put things. We knew it was needed, but we couldn’t get started on it for a long time. We’ve finally managed to make it a reality,” Oki says.
Unlike conventional tables attached to the front of a wheelchair, this side table is designed to be inserted from the side and does not tilt when the seat angle is changed—a feature that makes a big difference.
It can be used steadily even when there is a lot of movement, and is designed to attach on either the right or left side. Many users have apparently said, “This is exactly what I needed!”
Once people began using it, the response exceeded expectations. It has been especially useful for users who regularly receive medical care, such as nutritional supplement administration and suctioning. The workshop has also heard from nurses stationed at special-needs schools who say it has been a great help, not just from families.
What is also interesting is that, after completing the design, Oki shares how it works at study groups and other gatherings of people in the same industry.
“I can’t work with every user myself, so I hope others will copy it and make their own,” says Oki. Her wish for the product to reach everyone who needs it is truly striking.
“To Koron Series” — Non-Slip Cushions That Support the Body
The second is a cushion.
This product was born from feedback from a user.
Once the child grew too big to be carried, they often had to spend time unable to move from their bed when no helper was available, such as on holidays.
They could eat if the bed were raised a little, but because of their severe disability, their body tended to slump and would not stay stable as hoped. If they could not sit up, they would have to receive nutrition through a feeding tube. For this child, who loved eating, simply “not being able to eat” was a major source of stress.
So Oki tried a cushion made with “non-slip fabric”.
Placed on either side of the body, it supports them while preventing them from dangerously slumping. They were delighted that they could now raise the bed even on days when no helper was available.
Many commercially available cushions have slippery surfaces, so they tend to shift even when used to support the body. However, if their shape is fixed or they are too hard, they do not conform well to the body. Amid these challenges, Oki happened upon “non-slip fabric,” which is also used in cushions for older adults.
“I had a hunch that this might work as a cushion to support users’ bodies.”
They have users try it out and continue to carefully explore which shapes are useful in which situations, repeatedly making and adjusting prototypes.
Not just with cushions, but with comments from users such as “This is how I use it” and “This part was hard to use,” each piece of feedback becomes a new idea for Oki and leads to improvements to the products. Oki says they are “truly grateful” for this relationship with users.
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