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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…
1 day ago
Story
The Ocean is Punk
Terrestrials are officially uncool. It’s a shame, because we have something pretty interesting going on up here. Tusked megafauna with phallus-like facial appendages roam mystic and ancient forests, whilst ferocious cats with impossibly glorious hair flourish in the untameable plains of Africa. The land has also given birth to humanity, along with culture, music, spirituality,…
April 8, 2024
Story
Who is this city for?
A blue light flashes on the automatic cat feeder as a disembodied woman’s voice fills the room.  “Hey Lily! Come get your food Lily!” Kibble dispenses into the bowl.  “Pspspsps!” The cat doesn’t move from Mardi’s lap – doesn’t so much as flick an ear at what I can only assume are the familiar sounds…
March 27, 2024
Australia Story
Loving the Grave Not Yet Dug
A sweat-slicked, overworked deli woman stands before me, arm extended with the weight of poverty and its favourite mystery meat – Devon. With sunken eyes and a tired smile, I get the sense we are both well acquainted with it. My last five dollars is spent and so am I, grocery bags digging into the…
March 7, 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…
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, place, culture and identity.

We’re run by a team of writers who mostly live, work and play in nipaluna / Hobart. With reverence, we acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and ongoing custodians of trouwunna / lutruwita / Tasmania: land that was stolen and never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.