It is a bad, humiliating start to the day. Usually, I can get from my office to the platform of JR Tamachi Station in about 10 minutes. Today it has taken just under 50 minutes.
There have been no detours or serious mishaps. Today I am, in a nutshell, legless. But not in the alcoholic sense: My legs are simply out of order, parked with the rest of me on a wheelchair. All this talk about making Japan more accessible to the disabled and the elderly got me thinking: Just how barrier-free is the nation's capital?
It doesn't take long to get an idea. For the most part, the journey to the station had passed without much ado, despite several near-collisions with passersby and the unpleasant experience of having cigarette ash flicked in my face. Some people can't seem to see anything that is below eye level.