Being blind doesn't slow Osamu Miyazono down much -- the Internet was still untested water for most Japanese when he started logging on five years ago. Now he gets some 50 e-mails a day.
Of course, the point-and-click system doesn't serve the 26-year-old acupuncturist very well, so he is helped by software that aids an audio version of Web sites. Using it, he's come across what he calls "an epoch-making idea" -- the Japan Blind Person Outdoor Association (JBOS).
On a September outing with the group to Kurashiki Tivoli Park in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Miyazono, who is from Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, was joined by about 150 blind people and volunteers.