Turning the Tables: Tokyo Restaurant Simulates the Disabled Experience for Nondisabled Diners

A Japanese restaurant has embarked on a social experiment – by attempting to reverse the positions of wheelchair users and nondisabled people. The restaurant, named “Barrierful” in Japanese, offers nondisabled people the opportunity to experience barriers as part of a minority, which will hopefully provoke discussions about disabilities and inclusion.

Among the barriers faced by nondisabled patrons are low ceilings (just five and a half feet tall), no seating areas and a buffet station set low to the floor for wheelchair access. In this experiment, the majority of customers and staff in the restaurant were wheelchair users, indicating to nondisabled guests that design is biased toward the majority.

OUR TAKE: This restaurant experiment can help to create awareness about how designing for the majority causes problems for minority groups. Perhaps experiences such as this could encourage the adoption of universal design principles, which creates access for all.

To read more about the Barrierful restaurant, click here.