Last weekend I visited a local plum festival in Tokyo and explored how accessible it is for blind and low vision (BLV) people.

The month of February in Japan is special for many reasons. The Kawazu Zakura, the earliest of the cherry blossoms, are starting to open, the weather is slowly warming up, it’s the month of the Emperor’s birthday… and the plum trees are blossoming! Last weekend I went on a little Tokyo trip to see the plums. I visited a quiet little area I’ve never been to: Hanegi Park.

What can you see at local Japanese festivals? What kind of plum celebrations are there? And how accessible are festivals in Tokyo?

I’ll try to answer these questions in this post!

To get to Hanegi Park I first took the train to Umegaoka Station on the Odakyu Line. 🚆

Fun fact: the station name roughly translates to Plum Hill.

Thankfully Google Maps is very well integrated in Japan, and you can see a lot of details like which train car to board, as well as exact times and durations.

Tip: if the train is supposed to arrive at 2:21pm, do not board the train that arrives at 2:19pm.

Station area market with Japanese kitchenware, chopsticks, and cultural items

Station area stall selling pickled Japanese plum

After arriving at the station, I was greeted by a few stands selling Japanese dishes, ornaments, and—in the spirit of the plum festival—limited-edition pickled sour plums. I love these on top of rice, so I had to get some! 😋

At and around the station (and in most big cities in Japan) there are yellow blocks to guide people. These are called Tenji Burokku (点字ブロック), which translates to “Braille Blocks.” They are primarily used to guide blind people and have different patterns that indicate paths and entrances. As a low-vision person, I sometimes use them as visible guides that will (probably) lead me to where I want to go.

I always say, “when in doubt, like Dorothy, follow the yellow brick road.”

Yellow braille blocks at a train platform in Japan. The blocks have different patterns to indicate paths, entrances, and other information.

In some places in Japan, these blocks also have QR codes embedded in them that people can scan to get audio guidance through a nearby speaker. Some very special blocks are even activated by nearby metal objects, like white canes.

From the station I headed toward Hanegi Park, which is only a few minutes’ walk. Hanegi Park has around 60 plum varieties, with both red/pink and white blossoms. The trees are right by the walking path and the blossoms were easy to spot. At the entrance to the park there was a map (in Japanese) with simple voice guidance for orientation.

The Hanegi Park map at the park entrance.

Audio guidance demonstration at Hanegi Park, around the map near the entrance.

The walk around the park was very pleasant! The plums were not yet in full bloom because we had a cold spell in Tokyo this winter, but I was able to get some nice pictures. The weather that day was lovely—sunny but not too warm—so I felt very lucky.

At the center of the park was a wide area with food stands and some stalls from local shops selling plum-related products. I followed the crowd (since there were no yellow bricks in the park itself) and reached it easily. However, one big challenge is identifying what each stall sells, what kind of food it is, or what products are available. There are some signs, but they are often very small, hard to spot, and difficult to read.

In Japan, restaurants and shops usually have pictures—or sometimes even plastic models—of the food or other things they sell. However, at this small local festival these kinds of pictures were not available. So I had to get up close and hope I could either see a sign or catch a glimpse of someone else’s order—hopefully without looking like I was staring. Otherwise, I could always ask people, which was more fun because it let me interact and improve my Japanese. But sometimes I wished for more agency in getting this simple information, which is often the least accessible.

As I was walking around, I spotted a lovely couple strolling through the festival. One was using a white cane while linking arms with their partner, who narrated the scene and described the different stalls as they explored together.

At festivals in Japan you usually find the same kinds of food:

• Yakisoba (stir-fried noodles)
• Takoyaki (dough balls with pieces of octopus)
• Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake)
• Gyu-kushi (beef skewer)

But instead of eating these, I decided to try some nearby places, so I made my way toward the park exit.

As I was walking, I started hearing a familiar sound—the taiko drum! 🥁 It was a group of primary school children and their teachers performing. I love taiko shows because they don’t require sight at all. Not only is it musical, but the sound, depth, and vibration of the taiko drums are things I can feel throughout my body—especially in my chest. It feels exciting and energizing, and I feel as if I’m there with them, part of the performance itself. I stayed and watched their show, then wrapped up my visit to Hanegi Park and walked around to find a place for lunch.

Note: Not sure if the depth of the sound comes through in the recording, but I recommend using your speakers—instead of headphones—to feel it better. 🔊

My spontaneous visit to Hanegi Park was great! I saw the beautiful plum trees in bloom, bought some delicious pickled plums, enjoyed local culture, and was thrilled by a taiko drum performance. While accessibility in Japan is still developing, I felt this visit was mostly easy and smooth. Even though some things are still difficult—like the signage at food stalls—other things are already quite good. For example, the 🟨 yellow bricks, the 🔉 audio guidance at the park map, and the 🥁 taiko performances.

If you have a chance, go see some plum trees, try some plum jam, or even taste the sour Japanese pickled plums (if you feel adventurous). 💮