HELPUSH Inc. develops barrier-free tourism plans to fulfill the 'I want to go!' travel dreams of wheelchair users and those who feel anxious about going out.

We support 'April Dream,' an initiative that aims to make April 1st a day for sharing dreams. This press release represents the dream of 'HELPUSH Inc.'

HELPUSH Inc. (Location: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yusuke Terada) operates a 'comprehensive outing support service' to fulfill the 'I want to go!' dreams of wheelchair users. We carefully listen to their desires for outings, confirm routes through advance research, accompany them on the day with a dedicated buddy (supporter), and edit footage of their enjoyable experience to present to them later. The plans successfully completed by wheelchair users become barrier-free tourism plans that allow people who feel anxious about mobility—including those with disabilities, the elderly, and those with strollers—to 'fulfill their dreams of going out.'

Background: Why people with disabilities and the elderly give up on going out

Including our CEO Terada, who is a wheelchair user, there are three social barriers that people with disabilities and the elderly face that cannot be overcome by 'personal motivation' alone, leading them to give up on going out:

Information barriers: Not knowing if a place is accessible for a wheelchair or one's specific condition. Unable to find information, making planning impossible. ■ Physical barriers: Steps, slopes, and narrow passages. Environments that are not barrier-free make physical movement difficult. ■ Psychological barriers: Being unable to ask for help or worrying about the eyes of others. These mental walls stop people from stepping outside.

In particular, for the elderly, it is said that those who are 'shut-ins'—not going out even once a week—have approximately double the mortality rate six years later. (Research results from the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, published in the online version of the international journal 'International Psychogeriatrics')

Terada's personal experience is the origin of the outing business

Terada has had cerebral palsy since birth and uses a wheelchair.

As a child, he played youth baseball; as a student, he studied abroad in the UK; later, he became a Yoshimoto comedian, a Kabukicho host, hitchhiked across Japan, and achieved 100,000 subscribers as a YouTuber. He was a person full of vitality. Additionally, because he lived in urban areas like Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo where travel by train was possible, he was in an environment where going out was easy.

However, after moving to Nagano Prefecture following the birth of his child, life in Nagano—where he could not drive at the time—suddenly turned the act of 'going out,' which had been taken for granted, into a high hurdle.

'I don't know where I can go in a wheelchair,' 'It's not barrier-free,' 'I don't have friends I can rely on in a place I'm living for the first time.'

He faced the three social barriers that cause people to give up on going out. Gradually, the gears of his life fell out of sync; mistakes at work, failures, and anxiety piled up, and he entered a period of being unable to go out and becoming a shut-in.

Fortunately, Nagano Prefecture focuses on 'Shinshu Universal Tourism,' which allows for sightseeing regardless of age or disability. By being taken out to Minamiminowa Village and Achi Village, he was able to see spectacular views, eat delicious food, and spend time laughing and forgetting his daily troubles, which helped him escape his shut-in life. He became convinced that if you have 'places you can go' and 'people to support you,' you don't have to give up on going out.

Therefore, he decided to start a business where people can go out with a dedicated buddy (supporter) to help those who feel anxious about mobility due to wheelchairs, disabilities, age, or other reasons, and who have given up on going out, take that first step.

[Image: Outing in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture]

The path to developing barrier-free tourism plans

To develop barrier-free tourism plans, we carefully listen to the places wheelchair users 'want to go' or 'would like to try going to.' Based on that, we work with local tourism associations to create a tentative plan. We then conduct advance research to see if the plan can be executed smoothly and what routes are best. Because Terada is a wheelchair user, he can visit these places himself and verify them from the perspective of the person involved. We believe it is necessary to identify the shortest, most enjoyable routes in advance, rather than dealing with minor steps, slopes, or public transportation usage on the day of the trip. We eliminate the 'information barriers' and 'physical barriers' that cause people to give up on going out through thorough advance research, and we eliminate the 'psychological barriers' by having a dedicated buddy (supporter) accompany them on the day.

[Image: We always check if there are multi-purpose toilets and how easy they are to use.] [Image: Even if it looks flat, there are often things you don't know until you actually pass through, such as gravel or bumpy areas that could cause you to trip.]

Through the development and implementation of barrier-free tourism plans, we address the three social barriers (information, physical, and psychological) for people with disabilities, the elderly, and those who feel anxious about mobility, such as those with strollers.

Furthermore, the buddy (supporter) who will accompany the user on the day also participates in the advance research, checking the route together to ensure smooth operations on the day of the trip.

We carry out the outing based on the plan created through this research, complete it as a 'barrier-free tourism plan,' and use it to help those who had given up on going out take their first step.

Additionally, by collaborating with tourism associations and local businesses, we feel we can create an environment where users are welcomed, where they don't have to worry about the eyes of others, and where it is easier to ask for help.

HELPUSH's challenge: 'Creating an environment where wheelchair users can thrive'

As we are still in the early stages, Terada conducts the advance research himself, but in the future, we want to create a system where wheelchair users who have used our outing plans can work as researchers to conduct advance research 'for those who want to go out.'

As a first step, a young female wheelchair user who actually went on an outing participated in the advance research with us. She seemed to feel the joy of being useful to someone else, saying, 'I'm happy that by doing this advance research, I can be of help to those who are going out.' Even though the statutory employment rate has been raised to 2.5%, there are still hurdles such as a lack of suitable jobs or limited job categories for those who want to work. Through the job of a researcher, we will create an environment where wheelchair users can thrive.

[Image: She participated in the advance research in Yokohama as a researcher.]

About HELPUSH Inc.

Representative: Yusuke Terada, CEO Officers: Kayo Yasuda, CCO Location: 2nd Floor, Warehouse TERRADA G1 Building, 2-6-4 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Established: April 15, 2025 URL: https://helpush.jp