Q&A with TOMODACHI Program Participants and TOMODACHI Alumni: Yui Higashikawa

For this interview, we talked with Yui Higashikawa, an alumni of the 2022 TOMODACHI Story Jam for Youth with Disabilities. Yui currently works as a remote waitress called OriHime Pilot, who are operating OriHime robots. for the Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN ver.β in Tokyo. She is also an artist and certified pastel art instructor. Yui’s passions include advocacy for disabilities and utilizing the arts as a space to bring people together to foster more inclusive communities.

 

Q1: What made you decide to participate in the TOMODACHI Story Jam for Youth with Disabilities Program?

Heike Boeltzig-Brown, PhD Senior Manager for International Partnerships Institute for Community Inclusion University of Massachusetts Boston, told me about this program, and I wanted to share my story, because I used to struggle with how to decide to be more independent. I really was frustrated with making my decision with my parents. Especially before I started to live alone, it was hard to manage my parents’ opinion. I was wondering, “It’s not good for me to decide by myself.” But that’s not true. I am able to decide, by myself, and make my own way. So I wanted to share my story with those who have had experiences like me. Now, I’m getting along very well with my parents.

Q2: Do you have a favorite memory from your time on the program?

Talking with the TOMODACHI Story Jam for Youth with Disabilities members. Because they like Japan so much, and they always told me that my voice is so cute, which makes me so happy.

Q3: What did you learn from the program?

I have so many things I learned from the program, but especially now, as I am working as the pilot at the cafe in Tokyo, and I need more communication skills with English. I must keep talking if I made a mistake. English skills are more important so I can know how to express and explain my story with the English language. So that was a very nice experience for me.

Q4: Can you tell us about your job as a remote waitress for the Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN ver.β in Tokyo?

I work as a Pilot, and there are about 70 co-workers now. There are so many robots, with two different kinds. OriHime is smaller, OriHime-D is bigger. The bigger one can bring drinks to my customers, and can walk. The smaller one is normally on the table, and talks with and takes orders from people. Actually, I’m not a good driver, so I prefer the smaller one and to talk with my customers. I’m often lost in my way when I’m operating the bigger one.

Q5: Can you tell us about your work as an artist and as a pastel art instructor?

Yes, it’s kind of my rehabilitation from my childhood. I have cerebral palsy, and I was supposed to be born in October. But my birthday is in August, so 2 months earlier. And I am bound to my wheelchair in my daily life, so I need rehabilitation to develop my motor skills. It’s a good way to draw. When I was probably 5 years old, I started drawing, and my father also drew. So, I took
after my father and we were drawing together so much. When I was a university student, one of my professors loved my art, and she said I should be an artist and I should make money as an artist. And she ordered my art for the first time. She was my first customer.

Q6: What made you become interested in studying English at university?

I went to rehabilitation for a while, and when I went there I met one person who has the same disability as me.His mother is an English teacher, and she told me, she wants to let her son visit abroad, because the welfare system is more advanced than Japan. But I couldn’t understand what that meant, because Japan is very neat and I already receive some Japanese welfare services. It seems quite enough for me. I think I wanted to see what it was like for real, because I couldn’t understand just by hearing it. And many people bullied me when I was a student, before I went to university from elementary school to high school, about 9 years. Actually, I didn’t like Japan so much at that time. So I wanted to see a new world, and I wanted to go abroad. I started studying English when I was in elementary school, so I know I am good at studying English, so I decided to go abroad when I was a high school student, when I met that woman. English makes me feel like I can open new doors. And I felt like I could do more things.
Now I also love Japan too!

Q7: What was your experience like when you participated in the disability advocacy and leadership program at the University of Massachusetts?

It was so fun. But I remember I was very confused about it. For example, my boss lets me make a decision by myself. But before I went abroad and joined the program, my mom was always beside me, and she tried to make decisions instead of me. So I thought I had to receive her permission. She always said, “Don’t do that. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Do this.” It was hard to make decisions by myself, so I was not used to it, but in Boston I had to make decisions by myself. And my boss at first, seemed strict in that situation, so that was kind of a culture shock for me. Then I got used to it, and found what I wanted to do, and my decision.
I noticed that I can do it if I want to without my parents opinion if that is good for me. And to be honest, at first, I was scared of my boss, before I got used to it. But after I got used to it, I noticed that she’s sweet, and she’s tried to support me with advocacy and making decisions by myself is good. So I’m never scared, and now I love her so much.

Q8: What does TOMODACHI mean to you?

I made many friends in TOMODACHI. They participated at the same time, and we still keep in touch. I called one of them three days ago. When I had the final presentation for TOMODACHI, TOMODACHI staff member, Ai Asakura noticed that in one of my pictures, I live in Fukuoka. She also lives in Fukuoka. One of my pictures has a hair salon which Ai-san visits often. She said, “Yui, you live in Fukuoka!”　And now she knows I live near her house, so we can meet up. We met up three times, and the last day she visited my house and we had a party. The TOMODACHI program has brought me a lot of friends. I actually dislike my voice, but everyone said, “your voice is cute!”, so now I have more confidence in my voice. And for my work, my voice is important, because it’s used with the robots. So I really appreciate everyone. And sometimes I am disappointed in my ability, but everyone said, you seem like you’re positive every time. It’s not true, but the program gives me more positive power. So, I really appreciate everything about this program.

Q9: What are some of the challenges within your community, and what opportunities do you think TOMODACHI and the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) can do to help address that issue?

I want to go abroad again and again, so I want to know more about the country’s environment, especially welfare, and what I can receive there. I want to interact more with people about that and then find out my plan. My friends who are surrounded by me, are also many people who want to go abroad, but I don’t have a lot of information. So if the TOMODACHI program helped them, I would be so happy for me and happy for them.

This interview was conducted by Hannah Fulton on February 7th, 2024. Hannah is currently a TOMODACHI Alumni Program Intern and is an Alumni of the Toshizo Watanabe Study Abroad Scholarship 2022-2023. This interview was transcribed by Aya Kaneko, TOMODACHI Alumni Intern.