🌿 Understanding Lived Experience – “Fuwariba”
A quiet bridge for first-hand perspectives on disability and neurodiversity
■ Introduction
At Fuwariba, I:
- host a small peer support group / lived-experience meetup (about twice a month), and
- visit local “drop-in” / peer cafés once or twice a week
to stay close to the day-to-day voices and subtle changes in participants’ lives.
These first-hand perspectives can be a valuable resource for:
- local government and public services
- social welfare providers
- researchers and educators
- companies and organizations
who wish to deepen their understanding of people living with mental health challenges, developmental differences, and other forms of “living with difficulty” in Japanese society.
I do not present myself as a “specialist who has all the answers.”
My role is to quietly observe the field and share what I actually see and hear, as it is.
■ What I do
● Hosting a lived-experience group (approx. twice a month)
In our regular meetings, I carefully listen to:
- participants’ own words
- feelings that are hard to put into language
- small changes and shifts in relationships
These are treated as first-hand, non-exaggerated information, handled with care and respect.
● Visiting peer / “livelihood” cafés (1–2 times a week)
By casually spending time at local peer cafés, I stay in touch with:
- everyday difficulties and friction
- moments of relief and connection
- subtle changes in atmosphere and mood
This helps me keep a day-to-day, grounded perspective on people’s lived experience.
● Cooperation with universities and research / education institutions
So far, I have taken part in interviews and research-related conversations with:
- a Japanese university associate professor
- a Japanese part-time lecturer
- an overseas-based researcher (in Japanese, in person)
In each case, I have cooperated by sharing my lived experience and the background of our group activities for projects related to understanding service users and neurodiversity.
For privacy reasons, I do not publish names or affiliations of individuals or institutions.
■ Support I can offer
● Sharing first-hand perspectives from the field
From the support group and peer cafés, I can share:
- background and changes that are visible in the group
- explanations of “atmosphere” and non-verbal aspects
- ways to break down complex issues into observable points
- additional perspectives that help deepen understanding of service users
● Consultation on understanding lived experience (online / in-person)
Rather than a formal training seminar, this is a dialogue-based consultation of about two hours.
Together, we look at:
- what is currently happening in your context
- how that may relate to what I see in the field
- how to organize and reflect on those observations
The goal is not to simplify or “fix” the issue quickly,
but to sort through what is actually happening, at a realistic pace.
● Support for introducing or improving tea-time gatherings / conversation spaces
I can offer light support around:
- designing a safe and gentle conversation space
- facilitating the first session
- creating a flow that allows psychological safety and honest sharing
I try to keep my involvement as minimal and low-burden as possible for the organization.
■ Fee (as an “Understanding Lived Experience” Advisor)
🔹 Consultation on lived experience (online / in-person)
From JPY 150,000 (tax included) / approx. 2 hours
(This is the current fee and may change in the future.)
- Sharing perspectives based on first-hand information, organizing issues, and offering gentle guidance
- Single-session consultation (one-off)
- 2–5 participants can join from your side
- In-person sessions are available upon consultation (transportation costs etc. to be discussed)
- Only one session per month is accepted
■ Values and ethical stance
In all my work, I try to:
- speak only within the range that I can honestly talk about
- refrain from answering questions that require professional clinical or academic analysis
- limit audio / video recording to research purposes only (by prior agreement)
- decline requests that may harm, stigmatize, or misuse people with lived experience
- do everything I can to avoid revealing personal identities
- share my own experiences and reflections in an unexaggerated, “as-I-am” way
■ Experience (outline)
- Cooperation with a Japanese university associate professor on understanding service users / lived experience
- Cooperation with a Japanese part-time lecturer for interview-based research
- Cooperation with an overseas researcher (interview in Japanese, in person)
- Hosting a lived-experience group (more than 200 total participants over time)
- Cooperation in local events related to “understanding lived experience / service users”
Details are not published in order to protect the privacy of all involved.
■ For inquiries from overseas
I also accept requests from researchers and journalists based outside Japan.
However, all communication and interviews are conducted in Japanese.
We welcome interview requests from overseas.
Please feel free to contact us in Japanese.
■ Contact
Please contact me using the form below.
Short messages are perfectly fine.
I will review your message and reply only when necessary and when my schedule allows.
Contact form (example fields in English):
- Your name (required)
- Affiliation (optional) e.g. University / research institute / social welfare organization / company
- Email address (required)
- Type of inquiry (required) Consultation on understanding lived experience (approx. 2 hours) /
Research or educational interview request /
Other - Preferred format (optional) Online (Zoom) / In-person (to be discussed) / Undecided
- Approximate budget (optional) e.g. JPY 150,000–300,000
- Message (optional) Please write only what you feel comfortable sharing.
A short message is totally fine.
Please note: inquiries are accepted in Japanese only.