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Australia Japan Story
Dancing Like a Fool
“I’m here to seduce you,” the dancing woman declares.  I’m not sure how to respond, so I giggle nervously.  My friends and I have been admiring her for several minutes. We’re in a disco-inspired section of an art exhibition in Tokyo. The artist I’ve been diligently listening to on the audio guide calls the room’s…
October 16, 2024
Japan Story UK
Capital T(okyo)
One Month Before Departure I know I can’t be the first queer person in my family. But as far as I’m aware, I’m the first one who’s out and open.  As of writing, my dad doesn’t know I’m trans. He probably has his suspicions though: leaving breadcrumbs is one of my more satisfying hobbies. Normally…
August 12, 2024
Japan Story
A Cat Lady in Tokyo
Traditionally, being a cat lady means living in a house that always smells of Fancy Feast tinned food and not owning a single piece of clothing devoid of faux fur. Deeper than that, it’s an insult reserved for unpartnered older women – whatever older means these days – to dismiss them for not fitting the…
April 16, 2024
Japan Story
Winter Eggs
We wake in a pile of butter-yellow blankets beside a dying fire: me and three dark heads of hair. The world outside is a snowglobe – a beautiful rarity in 逗子 / Zushi / the half-mile beach where the sun was born. In the morning light, there’s a smudge of blue on the inside glass…
February 14, 2024
Australia Japan Story
Untethered
I prepare for Tokyo by quitting vapes. One week until departure, and I’ve not bought a single item on my list. I’m a zombie, moving through life in a cloud of smoke. My share house from the last six months is ejecting me. I have nowhere to live. It’s a repeat of last January, when…
January 19, 2024

Astray is a storytelling project centred on travel, community, identity and liberation.

We’re based out of Lenapehoking / New York City: the homeland of the Lenape. Specifically, we’re in Manhattan: a name that comes from Mannahatta, meaning “island of many hills”. As grateful guests in this city, we recognize the strength and resilience of the Lenape, and extend our reverence to all Indigenous peoples everywhere. This acknowledgement comes from our commitment to working against the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.