How I, a person with developmental disabilities who was constantly told 'I don't know what you're doing,' still managed to reach 1,200 followers on note.
“Yorimichi-san, I don't really know what it is you do.”
I have been told that over and over. Even so, my note followers have exceeded 1,200.
When I saw the notification, honestly, I stared at that number blankly for a while. It’s not because I have 14,000 followers on X. Even though I started on note as a test-taking account and have been posting inconsistently, the result felt heavier than a cherry blossom falling, manifesting as a tangible weight.
Even if you’re inconsistent, if you keep going, you will reach people. This article is about that.
About the time of four years
Looking back, it was over four years ago that I started note.
At first, my motivation was vague: I just wanted a place to output. At the time, the teacher I was studying with told me to use X, but after reading other study-related articles, I built a nest on note, just like a bird settling in. That was all there was to it.
For the first year, honestly, it was just a diary. That’s what I like about note.
Starting the 'Yorimichi (Detour) Activities'
The turning point was the 'Yorimichi Activities' I started about three years ago. Perhaps it was fate that my entrance exams didn't go as planned.
In a word, the Yorimichi activities were about 'challenging the path of art I had abandoned, but in a different form.'
I had originally intended to walk the path of an artist. But after my father’s passing, I let go of that path. I temporarily abandoned the dream of making what I love my job. That wasn't all. There was even a time when I couldn't even manage to eat properly.
After going through that, I began to search for a 'path to make what I love my job' once again, from a different angle. That was the beginning of the Yorimichi activities. Since I couldn't go straight, I decided to allow myself a way of life where I would pick up the things I truly cherish while taking detours.
In those activities, I particularly valued 'communication.' Talking to people, creating spaces, and connecting with others. When I continued to do that carefully, strangely enough, people began to gather. Before I knew it, the total number of participants in the events I hosted had exceeded 200. In three years, that is.
And it led to NPO lectures and a career in public speaking where I host seminars, and by 2026, I even published my autobiography commercially.
The title is 'The reason why a Yorimichi with developmental disabilities still lives.'
The words just as they were became the title.
There is something I am often told.
“Yorimichi-san, I don't really know what it is you do.”
And.
I think that is true. I draw, I host events, I give lectures, and I write on note. It’s hard to explain with a job title.
But even so, people still gather.
Membership [Map of Detours] hasn't grown either, but I even held a real-life Tokyo cherry blossom viewing event, even though only one person participated.
I find it strange myself.
If I were to write about why, as a reflection on March 2026, in a monthly report style
I think it's probably because I keep walking the path even while wavering. My old self was an 'artist.' I only looked at the path of art. But when I only looked at the path of art, everything was completed within art alone. I should have thought about how the people around me felt, but before I knew it, I was alone.
Business is lonely. That might be true. I know now that there is a path of essence. Someone is watching the very figure of me wavering, getting lost, taking detours, and still walking. Of course, there are times when I am disliked. That is natural. It is impossible to make everyone an ally or a friend. However, I believe I value communication as much as I can.
One day, an art job came my way even though I didn't have a portfolio. The art sold for 30,000 yen.
Besides that, there was logo design and animation production. It was when the path I thought I had discarded returned in a different form. I thought that withered tree—no, the cherry tree—would never bloom again, but I was wrong.
The detour was not a long way around. Rather, I am now in a place I could never have reached if I had just gone straight. I felt that strongly two years ago when I climbed to the summit of Mount Fuji.
Let's seriously change my life.
I wavered many times, I got lost
Even so, the path was not just one.
It wasn't just once or twice that I wondered, 'Is this direction really okay?' At one point, I thought, 'I should write more useful information,' and had a period where I fired off how-to articles. But something felt wrong. I wasn't being myself.
At another time, there was a period where I pressured myself, thinking, 'I must update every day.' As expected, I ran out of breath. There were days when I couldn't write for a week, and honestly, there were times when I thought, 'Maybe I should just quit note.'
I wavered. I wavered many times. But every time, I came back. I understand now that that was probably what 'continuation' meant.
'Continuation muscle' trained on X
Actually, I believe my ability to continue on note comes from my daily posts on X.
The story posts on X that I started around 2024. The habit of writing 2,000 characters increased my continuation muscle. Whether there is a reaction or not, I just keep writing. I don't need to think deeply. It doesn't have to be good. Just leave behind what I felt today.
As I continue to do that, the resistance to 'writing' gradually fades away. Writing becomes a part of daily life, like brushing my teeth or breathing. It's strange. Even though I was a student who ran away due to a learning disability, my parents often said to me, 'You love studying, don't you?' Even when they said it, I didn't understand what they meant.
Let's get back to the story.
note became active around last year. It feels like the 'continuation muscle' I built up over 2-3 years on X finally made the cherry blossoms bloom in a place called note. The method of habituation on X had become a strong foundation for writing even longer texts.
X and note have different roles.
X is a place for moment-to-moment interaction, while note is a place for people to walk slowly through my warehouse. The two don't compete; they are like a road and the port it leads to, complementing each other.
To my followers
1,200 people are following this note. I think those who were here in the early days must be surprised. That Yorimichi became an author. A commercial author, at that.
And next month, I will be commercially publishing a picture book.
There are articles I haven't written well. There were times when I lost my way. Even so, there are people who keep reading. I am truly grateful for that. I can't quite put it into words like 'gratitude,' but I just have this feeling of 'thank you for reading.'
Looking ahead
To be honest, I think I will continue to get lost. I think I will waver.
There will surely be nights when I feel anxious, wondering, 'Is it okay to write things like this?' And I think days will come again when I feel the pressure to 'write something more proper.'
But I've come to think that it's okay to be lost. Returning here even while lost—that is probably what 'continuation' looks like for me.
The Yorimichi (detour) activities will continue. While taking detours, while stopping, I will still keep walking.
Next is 1,300 people. If I just think about that, I'm sure it will be fine.
Thank you for reading. I hope the freedom of note will continue to support Yorimichi, and I want to give back to the members of my membership, 'Yorimichi no Chizu' (Map of Detours).
If this article resonated with you even a little, I would be happy if you followed me. Please keep watching the continuation of Yorimichi as I keep walking, even while wavering.
For those who want to get a little more involved, please join the membership 'Yorimichi no Chizu.' I share real-life events and stories exclusive to that space.