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Japan Story
Lessons from Japanese Love Dolls
Hi, I’m interested in your collection. *Delete Delete Delete*  Hello, I would like to come and see your dolls. *Delete Delete Delete*  Maybe I should write this in Japanese. Wait, who the fuck is this email even going to. Ok, ok, let’s just Google translate a few ideas. English to Japanese has me feeling…
November 5, 2019
Japan Story
Too Big in Japan
I can feel my face turning a warm, visibly peachy colour as those uncomfortable, familiar prickles run up my neck, around my ears, even to the end of my nose. The little old lady is huddled over something on the bench with her back to me. I've been standing here for over a minute and…
November 1, 2019
Japan Story
Night Fishing in Tokyo
The Sumida river flows through Tokyo the way the memory of Fisherman Yoru (night in Japanese) will course through my head, reminding me about the joys of being alive. Months ago, back in Singapore, I met someone who introduced me to a world of illegal fishing. Something about rivers in the dead of the night…
August 27, 2019
Japan Story
Mass Panic in Tokyo
To the last man standing. To the big night out. The party isn’t over if the music’s still playing. Who did I get that cigarette off? Did I steal your last sip? That’s my mate DJ’ing – I can’t stop yet. Sticky toilet floors… dudes can’t aim. Did you assholes forget how to flush? The…
March 19, 2019
Japan Story
He’s Not Your Fantasy
Kitsune, Kyoto. A sticky summer’s night. You’ve been drinking by the river in Gion-Shijo with your friends, Strong Zeroe’s from the 7/11 down the road, but they didn’t have the sour lemon so you’re sipping on grapefruit, wondering why this flavour even exists. In the club, you lose your friends in a haze of lights.…
March 13, 2019
Japan Story
An Ode to Fleeting Meetings
She beams at me expectantly. I look back confused and unsure of what she is saying. Damn I wish I spoke Japanese. I step onto the train carriage and dart towards the only available seat. Seats on trains are a hot commodity in Tokyo, so I am feeling pretty stoked. I peel my raincoat off…
January 2, 2019

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.