Introducing Mabel

Mabel is an Atto Mobility Scooter that folds into a very portable carry on.

We had no intention of bringing her home from the Abilities Expo. In fact, we had promised each other that we were only there to look. But she was so amazing and a woman standing next to us was buying one. After a lovely conversation, she convinced me that I’d be wise to also buy one to make our trip more enjoyable by helping me conserve strength and energy.

We were worried about actually bringing her across the world to Japan. Would the airlines accept her? Would she be safe? Would we be able to manage her and our luggage? The answer to all these questions was a resounding yes - with a few glitches.

Let’s just say we educators schooled a few employees of a domestic airline that shall go unmentioned. But the rest of the trip was lovely. We were treated with such warmth, respect and dignity by AirCanada, the staff at Narita Airport, the staff of Airport Transit and our taxi driver here in Tokyo! They never once made me feel like a burden.

We are still concerned about where she will fit and when it is best to leave her home and use the Rollator, but hearing from others about all the places that are accessible by mobility devices is heartening. (Shoutout to the amazing community at: https://www.tabifolk.com/)

So today we are venturing out from our little apartment in Mejirodai International Village to visit a My Basket supermarket and check out our neighborhood.