To feel firsthand; to understand or sense something through direct experience (can be literal or figurative).
初めてスキーをして、寒さを肌で感じた。
When I skied for the first time, I felt the cold on my skin.
海外で生活して初めて、異文化の違いを肌で感じるようになった。
Only after living abroad did I begin to feel the differences between cultures firsthand.
工場の現場に行ってこそ、労働の厳しさを肌で感じられる。
Only by going to the factory floor can you really feel the harshness of the labor firsthand.