About · お茶会について
Aya Toriyama
Founder · Practitioner · Research-based designer
Aya Toriyama is a Japanese practitioner based in The Hague. She started Ochakai in her own residential building in 2024, after noticing how rarely neighbours connected despite sharing the same physical spaces, and asking herself what it would actually take to change that.
She holds an MSc in Urban Management & Development from Erasmus University / IHS. Her research focused on belonging in urban environments and the role of everyday mobility in shaping social and psychological wellbeing. Ochakai emerged as a practical extension of that work, moving from research into real residential settings.
Previously, she worked in cross-cultural community and engagement roles across Japan, the Middle East, and Europe, exploring how people feel safe enough to connect across cultural and spatial boundaries.
How we work
Ochakai's approach is built on three principles.
Start with lived experience.
We begin by understanding how residents actually experience everyday life in their building, how proximity feels, where interaction naturally happens, and what makes connection feel safe or unlikely. The pilot is designed around that reality, not around assumptions.
Keep it lightweight.
We introduce simple, low-barrier structures (small gatherings, shared communication spaces, recurring touchpoints) that fit into residents' lives without adding complexity or demanding significant time. Connection becomes easier, not another obligation.
Design for handover from the start.
Every element of the pilot is designed with the end in mind. The goal is not a programme that residents depend on, but a system they gradually take ownership of. By the time Ochakai leaves, the conditions for connection are already in place.
Open to collaboration
Ochakai welcomes conversations with housing organisations, municipalities, researchers, and practitioners working on urban belonging, liveability, and residential community building.
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