Writing Workshops
Freelancing, Media Justice + Indie Publishing
Tokyo, Japan
Dates
January 12 – February 9, 2025
May 31 – June 28, 2025
Cost
From $2,900USD
With a focus on sustainable travel, media literacy and community building, this program is designed to equip aspiring freelancers with the confidence, skills and experience to pitch and publish their writing.
Description
Join a month-long series of writing workshops in Tokyo taught by editors, journalists, poets, producers and activists. Learn conversational Japanese from a woman-founded language school, explore the arteries of Japan’s sprawling capital with likeminded solo travellers, and work on your writer’s portfolio.
Tokyo is a city of layers and laneways, tradition and modernity, culture and subculture. Here, people soak beneath tiled mosaics of Mt Fuji in communal bathhouses next door to smoky izakaya, where people share laughter and tiny plates. Incense wafts from temples tucked between happening bars; there’s sushi and socks for sale at every convenience store; and you’re almost as likely to pass by someone in a kimono as you are a suit.
For four weeks, you’ll make Tokyo your home when you do a writing workshop with Astray. Along with a team of other aspiring and emerging writers, you’ll stay between two family-run guesthouses, attending daily writing classes and learning Japanese from a chic space in Bakuro-yokoyama.
To be specific, you’ll refine your writing skills, deepen your media literacy, and learn how to get started as a freelancer – including how to pitch, get published and get paid. We’ll also be having lots of conversations about the current media landscape (*cough* shitshow), systems of oppression, and the hype around Japanese culture. Work-wise, you’ll write one or two stories that we’ll help you polish and pitch, and you’ll also be putting together a e-guidebook in a small team.
In your free time, you’ll be singing your heart out at karaoke, sampling Tokyo’s vending machines and maybe even zooming out to Japan’s fabled mountains, rivers, villages, valleys and coastlines on the weekend.
Inclusions
Daily writing workshops
Classes are seminar-style and will feature a combination of instruction, reading, discussion and activities. They go for 2 – 3 hours each weekday, and will focus on copywriting, narrative storytelling, investigating, podcasting, editing, working against colonial and imperial legacies, pitching to editors, starting a publication, working as a freelancer and more. Click here to read the syllabus. They will be held from Midori.so Bakuroyokoyama, which is a 30-minute commute from one guesthouse (walking and train), and a 20-minute walk from the other.
Group and one-on-one editing sessions for the stories you’ll be writing
In the final week, you’ll be split into small editing groups to workshop one of your stories. These will be facilitated by an Astray teacher. You’ll receive feedback for your other piece and any other writing you’d like us to take a look at in a one-on-one session.
3 x weekly Japanese language lessons
Classes are conversational and sorted into three streams: beginner, intermediate beginner and intermediate. They go for 1.5 hours each, and will also focus on Japanese culture. Just like our writing workshops, language classes are held at Midori.so Bakuroyokoyama, and are taught by bilingual Japanese teachers.
28 nights’ accommodation
At either Satosan’s Rest or Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse.
Potential university credit via the Work Integrated Learning program
If you’re a journalism, media or communications student, enrolment in the program gives you the potential to receive a full subject’s worth of university credit. So far, we’ve had students from RMIT, Massey, Wollongong University, Charles Sturt University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, UNSW, QUT, the University of Queensland, Curtin University and more receive credit, as well as those attending schools in the UK and the US. This is something you need to chat to your course coordinators about and organise yourself.
Instructors
Megumi was born and raised in Tokyo. Growing up with an American mom and a Japanese dad, living biculturally in Japan is continuously a blessing and a challenge. She’s a freelance writer and a project manager for foreign brands making shit happen in Tokyo, and writes essays on identity, cultural commentary and womanhood. Meg’s a sucker for a good podcast and a great TV show, and loves to cook – favourite meal is a bowl of pasta with some fries on the side.
In search of adventure, Kim upended everything, quitting her PR job, music site and radio show to move over to Japan, a country she thought looked fun. Since then, it’s been nearly seven years and she is now working as a freelance writer and occasional translator in Tokyo. Kim has cover stories and bylines in outlets including The Japan Times, Tokyo Weekender and Mixmag, covering Japanese music, culture and travel.
Benjamin is a poet, artist and critic based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s the author of poetry book Glaring and two chapbooks, most recently It got so dark. His poetry and criticism have been widely published and anthologised, and he has performed and screened video and sound work. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaching at universities in NYC.
After a brief stint in modelling, Leiya threw herself headfirst into the world of writing and filmmaking. Leiya now works as a screenwriter, occasional essayist, film worker and actor in Tokyo. Her debut script, KOKORO, is one the one of the first pieces in Japanese TV history to center a mixed race Japanese narrative. Leiya enjoys second hand book collecting, perfecting her granola recipe and aspires to be “the cool aunt” in her friend group.
A Melbourne-born, formerly Berlin-residing, ex-advertising strategist/copywriter, Tokyo-based freelancer who enjoys hyphen-laden sentences and cycling. A graduate from the University of Melbourne, an owner of two names, a walking identity crisis, James//Koji is a generalist who sometimes writes and sometimes gets published, but mostly works with brands and artists to make city plans, gallery shows, brand activations and fun keychains.
Gemma is the founder of Astray, an editor and a freelance writer. Originally from Australia, she’s got a background in travel writing, investigative journalism and radio, and is passionate about independent publishing, storytelling and gender-based violence prevention. In her free time, she enjoys walking, making playlists and scribbling illegibly in her journal from trains, cafes and bars.
Accommodation
Satosan’s Rest and Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse are run by lovely Japanese families who have worked with travellers for a long time. Connecting with our hosts and their children tends to be a highlight of everyone’s trips.
Satosan’s Rest sleeps 10 and is located within the sweetest shotengai (traditional covered shopping street) lined with budget tasty eateries, old stores and a traditional bathhouse. It has a kitchenette and is a 30-minute commute to class. There is one six-bed dorm and two twin rooms. There is no laundry on site, but a cheap coin laundromat is very close.
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse is on a road by the city’s river near more modern eateries and bars. It sleeps 16 people, and has a kitchen and washing machine. You can walk from here to class in 20 minutes. There is one eight-bed dorm, one four-bed room, one three-bed room and one single room.
Allocations will be based on preference and then availability.
Alternatively, if participants want to organise their own accommodation, they may, and we are happy to point you in the direction of short-term rental agencies.
What are we looking for?
This program provides practical, real-world knowledge and experience, and has been designed for aspiring and emerging writers. The program is open to people from all over the world, and you do not have to be studying (or have ever studied) in order to come.
Applicants vary in where they’re at in life — some are fresh out of high school; others are in the throes of a journalism degree; some are studying something unrelated to writing, like biomed or architecture; others are in the workforce; some have never dabbled in tertiary education. Some have been on the road for the last decade; for others, it’s their first time travelling solo. Some people come to us looking for formal writing training; others are seeking practical skills; some just want to experience life in Japan; others are keen to give something new a go.
Age-wise, people tend to be in the 18-to-40-something bracket, but we’re big advocates of age diversity, so if you fall outside of this but are still interested, drop us a line. We tend to attract mostly women and gender-diverse people, but cis men are very welcome too. In the past, we’ve had many neurodivergent and disabled folk do our program, and strive to do our best in accommodating everyone’s needs.
Maybe you’ve filled eight journals over the last five years; perhaps the only writing you’ve ever done is graffiti on the back of a toilet door; maybe you’re trapped in a corporate hellscape and are in need of a break; perhaps you’ve only ever done academic writing and you want to work on something fun where you can use swear words; maybe you’ve got a blog and have been wondering, “What if?”
If you’re unsure if you’ll be over (or under) qualified, fill in an application form and we can have a chat on the phone to see if we’re a good match.
Why do a writing workshop in Tokyo, Japan?
Do you have itchy feet? Are you feeling stuck with what to do next, keen to sharpen your skills and investigate career options, or wanting to broaden your perspectives?
Perhaps you’ve only ever written for yourself before and would like to get your words out there. Maybe you want to explore Japan with intent and purpose. Perhaps you’re into the community-building side of things and would like to meet a network of writer pals.
Hey — you might even just wanna have some big conversations with likeminded folk from around the globe about things like climate change, genocide and capitalism.
From experience (ours and that of the 500+ students we’ve hosted since 2015 in Japan, Spain, Indonesia and Australia), a month doing one of our writing and language workshops with a bunch of other solo travellers tends to be a pretty good antidote to such feelings.
Not only will you gain more confidence in your writing and get a portfolio of published work behind you, but you’ll learn so much about yourself over the course of the month. Though it can be nerve-wracking, solo travel is often life-changing, and many of our past students see coming to a workshop as a real turning point in terms of friendships, self-esteem, professional skills, purpose and stepping into a stronger identity.
If this sounds up your alley, fill in an application form or get in touch to learn more.
Travel respectfully and sustainably
As part of our commitment to sustainable travel, all the businesses we work with in Japan are locally owned and run: our classroom and coworking space, the guesthouses, the teachers’ accommodation and the Japanese language collective. We do not use AirBnb or booking.com due their well-documented impact on local communities, fees and complicitity in Israel’s occupation of Palestine. We also do not make any profit on the accommodation in accordance with Japanese legislation.
By attending a workshop for a whole month, you get the opportunity to really immerse yourself in Tokyo: a slow approach to travel that emphasises meaningful connection and experience over rushing around and only scratching the surface of places.
Learning Japanese is also going to enhance your trip, because even if you’re terrible at it, local people will appreciate you trying and it demonstrates respect. Plus, the interactions you will have could give way to all sorts of experiences!
Cost of Tokyo Writing Workshop
The price of the program is paid in USD (American dollars), and depends on your sleeping preferences.
$2,900 for a 6-shared dorm
Satosan’s Rest, bunk beds, 6 spots available
$2,970 for an 8-shared dorm
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, bunk beds, 8 spots available
$3,050 for a four-share dorm
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, bunk beds, 4 spots available
$3,100 for a triple-share room
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, single and loft beds, 3 spots available
$3,120 for a twin-share room
Satosan’s Rest, single beds, 4 spots available
$3,550 for a private room
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, 1 spot available
If you’d like to source your own accommodation, the course costs $2,150 (and we can help point you in the direction of room-finding agencies). Due to class sizes, we have capacity for 3 students to do so.
Once you get in to the program, a $700 non-refundable deposit will be required to confirm your place, and the rest will be due eight weeks before the program starts. Payment plans extending the due date by another 12 weeks are available upon request.
If we have to cancel, the program is fully refundable. If you have to cancel, the program is refundable less the deposit until eight weeks before. It is also an Astray requirement that participants in our workshops take out travel insurance. Consider policies with pre-trip cancellation benefits in case you are unable to come last minute for any reason.
FAQ
I’d like to read some reviews.
Peep our Testimonials Page and watch a ‘Day in the Life‘ vid made by an Australian student who stayed at Sato-san’s Rest.
I want more information about the program.
Read our Program FAQ.
Check out our Course Outline.
What are your terms and conditions?
Click here.
Application Process
At Astray, we are determined to foster a space that is safe and inclusive for all – meaning we do not tolerate any form of bigotry, discrimination, abuse, marginalisation or insulting behaviour on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion, background, skin colour, religious belief, sexuality, job, gender identity, socioeconomic class, caste, disability or age.
Interested applicants should fill in a contact form telling us a little about who they are and why they wish to participate in this program. We will endeavour to get back to you within 10 working days.
Writing Workshops
Freelancing, Media Justice + Indie Publishing
Tokyo, Japan
With a focus on sustainable travel, media literacy and community building, this program is designed to equip aspiring freelancers with the confidence, skills and experience to pitch and publish their writing.
Location:
Tokyo, Japan
Dates:
January 12 – February 9, 2025
May 31 – June 28, 2025
Cost:
From $2900USD
Join a month-long series of writing workshops in Tokyo taught by editors, journalists, poets, producers and activists. Learn conversational Japanese from a woman-founded language school, explore the arteries of Japan’s sprawling capital with likeminded solo travellers, and work on your writer’s portfolio.
Tokyo is a city of layers and laneways, tradition and modernity, culture and subculture. Here, people soak beneath tiled mosaics of Mt Fuji in communal bathhouses next door to smoky izakaya, where people share laughter and tiny plates. Incense wafts from temples tucked between happening bars; there’s sushi and socks for sale at every convenience store; and you’re almost as likely to pass by someone in a kimono as you are a suit.
For four weeks, you’ll make Tokyo your home when you do a writing workshop with Astray. Along with a team of other aspiring and emerging writers, you’ll stay between two family-run guesthouses, attending daily writing classes and learning Japanese from a chic space in Bakuro-yokoyama.
To be specific, you’ll refine your writing skills, deepen your media literacy, and learn how to get started as a freelancer – including how to pitch, get published and get paid. We’ll also be having lots of conversations about the current media landscape (*cough* shitshow), systems of oppression, and the hype around Japanese culture. Work-wise, you’ll write one or two stories that we’ll help you polish and pitch, and you’ll also be putting together a e-guidebook in a small team.
In your free time, you’ll be singing your heart out at karaoke, sampling Tokyo’s vending machines and maybe even zooming out to Japan’s fabled mountains, rivers, villages, valleys and coastlines on the weekend.
Daily writing workshops
Classes are seminar-style and will feature a combination of instruction, reading, discussion and activities. They go for 2 – 3 hours each weekday, and will focus on copywriting, narrative storytelling, investigating, podcasting, editing, working against colonial and imperial legacies, pitching to editors, starting a publication, working as a freelancer and more. Click here to read the syllabus. They will be held from Midori.so Bakuroyokoyama, which is a 30-minute commute from one guesthouse (walking and train), and a 20-minute walk from the other.
Group and one-on-one editing sessions for the stories you’ll be writing
In the final week, you’ll be split into small editing groups to workshop one of your stories. These will be facilitated by an Astray teacher. You’ll receive feedback for your other piece and any other writing you’d like us to take a look at in a one-on-one session.
3 x weekly Japanese language lessons
Classes are conversational and sorted into beginner and intermediate. They go for 1.5 hours each, and will also focus on Japanese culture. Just like our writing workshops, language classes are held at Midori.so Bakuroyokoyama, and will be taught by bilingual Japanese teachers.
28 nights’ accommodation in one of two lovely family-run guesthouses
Participants will stay between Satosan’s Rest and Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse.
Potential university credit via the Work Integrated Learning program
If you’re a journalism, media or communications student, enrolment in the program gives you the potential to receive a full subject’s worth of university credit. So far, we’ve had students from RMIT, Massey, Wollongong University, Charles Sturt University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, UNSW, QUT, the University of Queensland, Curtin University and more receive credit, as well as those attending schools in the UK and the US. This is something you need to chat to your course coordinators about and organise yourself.
Megumi Koiwai
Megumi was born and raised in Tokyo. Growing up with an American mom and a Japanese dad, living biculturally in Japan is continuously a blessing and a challenge. She’s a freelance writer and a project manager for foreign brands making shit happen in Tokyo, and writes essays on identity, cultural commentary and womanhood. Meg’s a sucker for a good podcast and a great TV show, and loves to cook – favourite meal is a bowl of pasta with some fries on the side.
Kim Kahan
In search of adventure, Kim upended everything, quitting her PR job, music site and radio show to move over to Japan, a country she thought looked fun. Since then, it’s been nearly seven years and she is now working as a freelance writer and occasional translator in Tokyo. Kim has cover stories and bylines in outlets including The Japan Times, Tokyo Weekender and Mixmag, covering Japanese music, culture and travel.
Benjamin Krusling
Benjamin is a poet, artist and critic based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s the author of poetry book Glaring and two chapbooks, most recently It got so dark. His poetry and criticism have been widely published and anthologised, and he has performed and screened video and sound work. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaching at universities in NYC.
Leiya Salis
After a brief stint in modelling, Leiya threw herself headfirst into the world of writing and filmmaking. Leiya now works as a screenwriter, occasional essayist, film worker and actor in Tokyo. Her debut script, KOKORO, is one the one of the first pieces in Japanese TV history to center a mixed race Japanese narrative. Leiya enjoys second hand book collecting, perfecting her granola recipe and aspires to be “the cool aunt” in her friend group.
James Hunt // Koji Egi
A Melbourne-born, formerly Berlin-residing, ex-advertising strategist/copywriter, Tokyo-based freelancer who enjoys hyphen-laden sentences and cycling. A graduate from the University of Melbourne, an owner of two names, a walking identity crisis, James//Koji is a generalist who sometimes writes and sometimes gets published, but mostly works with brands and artists to make city plans, gallery shows, brand activations and fun keychains.
Gemma Clarke
Gemma is the founder of Astray, an editor and a freelance writer. Originally from Australia, she’s got a background in travel writing, investigative journalism and radio, and is passionate about independent publishing, storytelling and gender-based violence prevention. In her free time, she enjoys walking, making playlists and scribbling illegibly in her journal from trains, cafes and bars.
Satosan’s Rest and Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse are run by lovely Japanese families who have worked with travellers for a long time. Connecting with our hosts and their children tends to be a highlight of everyone’s trips.
Satosan’s Rest sleeps 10 and is located within the sweetest shotengai (traditional covered shopping street) lined with budget tasty eateries, old stores and a traditional bathhouse. It has a kitchenette and is a 30-minute commute to class. There is one six-bed dorm and two twin rooms. There is no laundry on site, but a cheap coin laundromat is very close.
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse is on a road by the city’s river near more modern eateries and bars. It sleeps 16 people, and has a kitchen and washing machine. You can walk from here to class in 20 minutes. There is one eight-bed dorm, one four-bed room, one three-bed room and one single room.
Allocations will be based on preference and then availability.
Alternatively, if participants want to organise their own accommodation, they may, and we are happy to point you in the direction of short-term rental agencies.
This program provides practical, real-world knowledge and experience, and has been designed for aspiring and emerging writers. The program is open to people from all over the world, and you do not have to be studying (or have ever studied) in order to come.
Applicants vary in where they’re at in life — some are fresh out of high school; others are in the throes of a journalism degree; some are studying something unrelated to writing, like biomed or architecture; others are in the workforce; some have never dabbled in tertiary education. Some have been on the road for the last decade; for others, it’s their first time travelling solo. Some people come to us looking for formal writing training; others are seeking practical skills; some just want to experience life in Japan; others are keen to give something new a go.
Age-wise, people tend to be in the 18-to-30-something bracket, but we’re big advocates of age diversity, so if you fall outside of this but are still interested, drop us a line. We tend to attract mostly women and gender-diverse people, but cis men are very welcome too. In the past, we’ve had many neurodivergent and disabled folk do our program, and strive to do our best in accommodating everyone’s needs.
Maybe you’ve filled eight journals over the last five years; perhaps the only writing you’ve ever done is graffiti on the back of a toilet door; maybe you’re trapped in a corporate hellscape and are in need of a break; perhaps you’ve only ever done academic writing and you want to work on something fun where you can use swear words; maybe you’ve got a blog and have been wondering, “What if?”
If you’re unsure if you’ll be over (or under) qualified, fill in an application form and we can have a chat on the phone to see if we’re a good match.
Do you have itchy feet? Are you feeling stuck with what to do next, keen to sharpen your skills and investigate career options, or wanting to broaden your perspectives?
Perhaps you’ve only ever written for yourself before and would like to get your words out there. Maybe you want to explore Japan with intent and purpose. Perhaps you’re into the community-building side of things and would like to meet a network of writer pals.
Hey — you might even just wanna have some big conversations with likeminded folk from around the globe about things like climate change, genocide and capitalism.
From experience (ours and that of the 500+ students we’ve hosted since 2015 in Japan, Spain, Indonesia and Australia), a month doing one of our writing and language workshops with a bunch of other solo travellers tends to be a pretty good antidote to such feelings.
Not only will you gain more confidence in your writing and get a portfolio of published work behind you, but you’ll learn so much about yourself over the course of the month. Though it can be nerve-wracking, solo travel is often life-changing, and many of our past students see coming to a workshop as a real turning point in terms of friendships, self-esteem, professional skills, purpose and stepping into a stronger identity.
If this sounds up your alley, fill in an application form or get in touch to learn more.
As part of our commitment to sustainable travel, all the businesses we work with in Japan are locally owned and run: our classroom and coworking space, the guesthouses, the teachers’ accommodation and the Japanese language collective. We do not use AirBnb or booking.com due their well-documented impact on local communities, fees and complicitity in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
By attending a workshop for a whole month, you get the opportunity to really immerse yourself in Tokyo: a slow approach to travel that emphasises meaningful connection and experience over rushing around and only scratching the surface of places.
Learning Japanese is also going to enhance your trip, because even if you’re terrible at it, local people will appreciate you trying and it demonstrates respect. Plus, the interactions you will have could give way to all sorts of experiences!
The price of the program is paid in USD (American dollars) and depends on your sleeping preferences.
$2,900 for a 6-shared dorm
Satosan’s Rest, bunk beds, 6 spots available
$2,970 for an 8-shared dorm
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, bunk beds, 8 spots available
$3,050 for a four-share dorm
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, bunk beds, 4 spots available
$3,100 for a triple-share room
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, single and loft beds, 3 spots available
$3,120 for a twin-share room
Satosan’s Rest, single beds, 4 spots available
$3,550 for a private room
Tokyo Hikari Guesthouse, 1 spot available
If you’d like to source your own accommodation, the course costs $2,150 (and we can help point you in the direction of room-finding agencies). Due to class sizes, we have capacity for 3 students to do so.
Once you get in to the program, a $700 non-refundable deposit will be required to confirm your place, and the rest will be due eight weeks before the program starts. Payment plans extending the due date by another 12 weeks are available upon request.
If we have to cancel, the program is fully refundable. If you have to cancel, the program is refundable less the deposit until eight weeks before. It is also an Astray requirement that participants in our workshops take out travel insurance. Consider policies with pre-trip cancellation benefits in case you are unable to come last minute for any reason.
I’d like to read some reviews.
Peep our Testimonials Page and watch a ‘Day in the Life‘ vid made by an Australian student who stayed at Sato-san’s Rest.
I want more information about the program.
Read our Program FAQ.
Check out our Course Outline.
What are your terms and conditions?
Click here.
At Astray, we are determined to foster a space that is safe and inclusive for all – meaning we do not tolerate any form of bigotry, discrimination, abuse, marginalisation or insulting behaviour on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion, background, skin colour, religious belief, sexuality, gender identity, socioeconomic class, caste, disability or age.
Interested applicants should fill in a contact form telling us a little about who they are and why they wish to participate in this program. We will endeavour to get back to you within 10 working days.