Astray

Enrolments for our autumn 2026 writing workshop in Tokyo are now open ⁺.༶⋆˙. 28 nights of communal living at @sato_sans_rest_tokyo_japan and @t.hikari.guesthouse ; daily workshops, writing salons and mentoring with our passionate teaching team @midoris0 ; thrice weekly Japanese classes with the fabulous ladies at @kmgla_japan ; meaningful writing, self-publishing and pitching projects; and plenty of time to explore yourself and the arteries of Tokyo (/beyond...) with your new pals. 28 places only; one full scholarship available; writers of all stripes encouraged to apply. Though we want to equip our students with the skills to write well, the priority of this program is not production, nor is it moulding you to fit in to a particular workplace situation. Rather, we want to encourage you to write because it makes you feel like the truest version of yourself. We want to spark wonder and expand our collective imaginations of what sort of futures are possible. We want to assemble a big spiderweb of writers across borders who care about each other and the planet we are on. We want to engage critically with our realities and the power structures that shape them. We want to empower you to use your writing as a tool for expression, connection, self-exploration, liberation and expansion. Sept 6 - October 4, 2026 Apply at the link in our bio or email [email protected] for more information. 🍃 Collage by the ethereal @fujijada ~ former student, writer, designer, artist and friend.

Spend 10 days living in step with the edible landscape of Takigahara. From chopsticks to ingredients, together we will build a meal from our surroundings ~ foraging edible plants, fermenting seasoning, making noodles from seaweed, carving bamboo, and embracing the practice of seasonal cooking. We'll learn from the people who live here: Ako, artist and poultry farmer; Miwa-san, ama diver; Nari-san, bamboo artisan; Ariya, Buddhist priestess; Anna, forager and fermenter; and many others. What we make across the 10 days becomes the meal we share on our final night ~ a feast for each other and everyone we've met, served at a concept restaurant we design together. To root ourselves more deeply in place, we'll hike the local mountain and take part in tea ceremonies, Japanese lessons and a creative non-fiction writing salon. We'll also hand-cover journals from washi paper we make ourselves from foraged gampi ~ pages to fill with recipes, stories, Japanese phrases, drawings, maps, scraps of conversation. Japanese breakfasts will be served each morning with fresh eggs courtesy of Ako's flock. Each night, we'll dine on meals prepared from our surroundings by chef Takuto and hunter Maya: a Hokkaido pair whose work traces the full journey from land to plate. Held in a beautifully restored farmhouse at the foot of Kurakake-yama, this program is an insight into the source of our food and an opportunity to learn from the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans, the land and the sea in Takigahara. Takigahara Farm also has an on-site café, a natural wine bar, a sauna and bath overlooking the forest, and plenty of pockets of wilderness to wander and swim. 16 places only ~ the link to learn more is in our bio. Photos of us frolicking mostly by @hiroki_tagawa ~

New York City deep listening events for Iran in May ~~ Sunday May 24, 6 - 8:15pm at The Atrium Space, 15-19 Decatur, Ridgewood & Tuesday May 26, 7 - 9pm at dear friend books, 343a Tompkins Ave, Bedstuy Minsky was born in Tehran and now lives in Tokyo. Ground Zero of Humanity is an audio tapestry of essay, story, poetry and song: for Iran, for Afghanistan, for Kurdistan, for those made to cross the Mediterranean on airboats, for those in ICE detention, for women, life, freedom, for dignity, for humanity. This 60-minute show was recorded during Nowrouz in Shinjuku for Room 303 Radio and will be broadcast for two deep listening and integration sessions in NYC: one with yin yoga and entry by sliding scale payment; the other free coupled with a community integration practice. Read more details and RSVP via the QR codes on slide 2.

Never have i ever travelled, m̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶f̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶ or, everywhere my well-travelled boyfriend has been to or, everywhere i wanted to be or, a little diary of travelling through other means, the internet primarily, through books, or ghostly memories or, to the moon humans have gone guess how i feel about that 🍃 Essay in four parts, drawings and collage Danica Guinid @lovergwerl ~ read the full piece on astray.com.au

By the time I was 18, three years after I started planting, my rooftop was bringing in steady income. Not a lot, but enough to rely on. That changed something in me. Being able to support myself meant I didn’t have to ask for permission in the same way anymore. That kind of independence isn’t just about money. It comes from doing the same work over and over, being responsible even when no one is watching, figuring things out because you have to. As I moved through the city, I started noticing patterns. Women who were capable and sharp, but stuck inside their homes. Not because they lacked ideas, but because their options were narrow. And above those homes were rooftops. Empty. Just like mine had been. I started thinking about terraces differently. Not as single spaces, but as many small pieces spread across the city. Eventually, I began working with women, one household at a time. Most were housewives. Leaving home wasn’t always possible. Risk wasn’t something they could afford. So we kept things simple. Whatever they grew, I would buy. No pressure to invest money upfront. No need to step outside their daily routines. The changes were small but real. Terraces turned green. Women earned on their own terms. Urban farming found space where it hadn’t existed before. 🍃 @_renukasingh_ is a feminist writer and the founder of @_kausikheti_ : a rooftop farming initiative focused on growing exotic fruit in urban spaces. She wrote the backstory of her extraordinary project for astray.com.au ~ the link is in our bio.

Featuring boots-on-the-ground long-form journalism from around the world, issue one of @rebelatlasmedia focuses on conflict zones, protest movements and fringe cultures outside the Western media landscape. 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 ~ Indonesia in Revolt The Fall of Assad Custodios Resistance Chinland Soweto Punk: Twenty One Children From The Frontline: Ukraine Dream Destroyers We Never See Midnight The Taps Ran Dry A4 158 pages 8 writers, 9 photographers Rebel Atlas exists to publish and pay journalists, photographers and writers working in environments where access is difficult and reporting carries risk. It is a response to an industry that increasingly sidelines on-the-ground reporting in favour of speed, scale and distance. 🍃 Friend / former student / Afro-Australian journalist @luke.marshin has done a limited final print run of his incredible magazine @rebelatlasmedia . 30 copies remain ~ to get your hands on one, DM us for a purchase link / click the link in today's story / check the 'Shelf' tab of our website.

Places in our month-long writers' trip to Tokyo this autumn are filling up ~ but we have a few left in the twin-share rooms at Satosan's Rest (in a Showa-era shotengai) and eight-share room at Hikari (in wooden beds hand-built by owner Yumiko)! ⁺.༶⋆˙. With a focus on storytelling, media literacy and learning together, this program is designed for writers at any stage who want to sharpen their craft, deepen their political imagination and connect with like-minded folk from all over the world. This season we're covering creative non-fiction, commercial travel writing, guidebook-making, opinion & personal essay, cultural observation, interviewing, feature writing, screaming beyond the void, media justice, understanding empire, digital surveillance & cyber safety, anti-patriarchal writing, self-publishing, pitching & freelancing, audio producing, and a slew of group and one-on-one editing sessions (scary but transformative). Teaching you will be a collage of local and international writers, editors, poets, organisers, producers, astrologists, founders, artists and more ~ an all-women team from Tokyo to Tehran. 28 x nights of accommodation 12 x Japanese language lessons 17 x writing workshops Sept 6 – October 4, 2026 ~ 28 places only. Writers of all stripes encouraged to apply, including those too shy to identify as such! Learn more at the link in our bio or email [email protected] ✦

Ideas felt linger longer. Aesthetics wielded well can mobilise change. Starving artists are by design. It is not within the interests of our oppressive systems to subsidise or broadcast challenges to their authority. Artists unwilling to censor themselves will not be fed. And yet they survive. They find small spaces to thrive, gathering spit in their mouths to spite the eyes of their attempted silencers. If you, like we, are keen to find the true ambassadors of any culture, seek out the underrepresented artists, and listen to the voices that—often silenced—deserve to be heard, then you are in the right place. These voices can be, unsurprisingly, difficult to find. But we hope to aid in your search. This pocket guide is our effort to spotlight Tokyo's indie artists and activists: the do-it-yourself folks, the grassroots organisers finding ways to circumnavigate gatekeepers, to operate extra-institutionally, unconventionally, and without permission. 🍃 'Art and Activism in Tokyo: A Pocket Guide' was put together by Alex, @maisieb973 and @_millie.foster_ . To read it up close, click the 'Shelf' tab on our website or DM us for a link.

I always try to walk as much as possible. Walk until my legs fall apart. Walk until I can take a nap on the grass. Walking is also inhabiting, and from time to time, I find a place to rest, imagine and, for a moment, appropriate the space that someone else has lived in before: make it mine, so it remains ours. On the same street where you live, on the same bench where you read, on the same field where you play, someone did it before, and someone else will do it after. The park, the square, and the street stop being grey and dry concrete and instead become pieces of paper wet with ink that tell so many stories: places of collective memory, places of imitation and interpretation of the person next to you. 🍃 @aina_canales wrote a beautiful essay on the reclamation of public urban space after passing three pigeons resting in the shade on the sidewalk, too hot to even fly. Read the full piece on our website ~ the link is in our bio under 'Stories'.

If you like eating what grows in the land around you, making things by hand, swimming in mossy creeks, the chorus of frogs and snuffle of badgers, foraging for wild flavours, and sleeping alongside others who share your hopes for a better world, maybe this 10-day program in rural Japan is for you. Guided by forager and fermenter Anna from @ishinoko.kitchen , Buddhist priestess @ariyaomisasaki , artist and poultry farmer @iii_aco_iii , ama diver @mimichibi_ama ; bamboo artisan @chiritsumo.sts ; and writers @lucy.dayman and Jam of @astray_prject ; together we will build a feast from our surroundings to serve to each other in a concept restaurant on our final night. To root ourselves more deeply in place, we'll hike the local mountain and take part in tea ceremonies, Japanese lessons and a creative non-fiction writing salon. We'll also hand-cover journals with washi paper we make from foraged gampi ~ pages to fill with recipes, stories, Japanese phrases, drawings, maps, scraps of conversation. Japanese breakfasts will be served each morning with fresh eggs courtesy of Ako's flock. At night, we'll dine on meals prepared from the edible landscape by chef @takuto_nakamura831 and hunter @mayamon78 of @naka.syoku : a Hokkaido pair whose work traces the full journey from land to plate. Held in a beautifully restored farmhouse at the foot of Kurakake-yama (@craftandstay ), this program is an insight into the source of our food and an opportunity to learn from the symbiotic relationship that exists between humans, the land and the sea in Takigahara. @takigaharafarm also has an on-site café, a natural wine bar, a sauna and bath overlooking the forest, and plenty of pockets of wilderness to wander. 16 places only ~ the link to learn more is in our bio. No cooking, foraging or writing experience is needed to join us, and we don't mind what age you are: we're just looking for safe humans with open hearts who would rather revere a bug than squash it.

Folk who came or donated to the Ground Zero of Humanity / نقطه ی صفر انسانی event in Naarm: you raised more than $3000 for Iran and Lebanon. ❤️‍🔥 @ackaram and Minsky have chosen to distribute the funds accordingly ~ $1,500 to Lebanese Red Cross $1,200 to Iranian Red Crescent Society $300 to the artists featured in Minksy's radio show: Golnar Shahyar and Ghawgha. Tonight's deep listening event in nipaluna / Hobart is free and will be held at @foldeyoga ~ doors are at 7:30pm for an 8pm sharp start. Mint tea will be provided; BYO mug. If you missed out on an event or want to listen back to Minsky's radio essay, DM us for a link!

When I was applying to universities in the US, I was given the “opportunity” to be interviewed by certain schools’ alumni. These interviews mattered a fair amount in the admissions process as they were the only way for applicants to be “seen” by anyone in person, and I think are meant, in part, to weed out weirdos, madmen, and liars. One interview sticks with me, nearly 15 years later. 🍃 Tia Lewis @dovahqueene (who also did the art!) on the economy of trauma ~ the full essay is on the Astray website. Find it under the 'Stories' tab of the links in our bio.