when you say 'lift up' do you mean a platform to raise ECVs and wheelchairs? no such animal . access on trains is zero entry( and the gaps are fairly small, much easier to board than say the DC system) buses, buses, once the rear door opens, the step up is actually minimal.. a standard step/stair in most cases. one, Japan is not that handicapped friendly, mostly because they don't have to be. try climbing Fuji -san as a healthy adult in your mid 30s and being passed by a 90 year old man who climbs it daily and while you are still going up, he is on his way down. I spent three years in the Tokyo area. never saw a single
ECV or wheelchair on public transportation.
all buses and trains/subway, however, have extra wide doors( you actually enter from the rear access point on Buses. ) the trains, for one, have 8 seats located at these entries that automatically raise during rush hour( you cannot manual lift them or pull them down at all) and there are no tie downs. you go from being able to fit 8 people in seats plus maybe 10 standing to fitting a minimum of 25-30( yeah they do like to squish.. they have entire crews of white gloved men with sticks to help smash everyone in enough to close the doors. claustrophobic people need never ride the KHK line)
I know it takes the driver a good 5-10 minutes to strap my chair down. multiply that by seven, and halve the number of seats for the rest of the crowd waiting, and there will soon be a riot, and rightly so. . once during my last trip I was not the only person waiting. I went on first, but the ECV driver had no freaking clue how to drive it so while I was strapped down in short order, it was another 15( no lie) minutes before she was in her spot and tied down. what i wish they would do is lose the buses that have that HUGE step up just behind the rear door. its ridiculously narrow and forcing people to schlep their monster truck sized double stroller all the way back there means that even if there were empty seats back there, no one could reach them.