Urban Writing Haus
Weekly creative writing workshops in Tokyo: a relaxing accepting space for writers and creatives of all styles and experiences
Every month, we offer a series of four hand-crafted 2-hr afternoon workshops, each on a unique theme comprising guided exercises, discussion, and dedicated writing time.
At their essence, these are creative writing workshops, but all creative individuals are welcome to join, brainstorm, and/or glean inspiration for their projects!
We focus on crating a chill environment to nurture the imagination while providing techniques and inspiration. These are not critique-based workshops, so no pressure! All positive vibes.
You'll leave with one or a combination of:
A fresh angle on something that's been sitting in a drawer, forgotten computer folder, or deep in the back of your mind too long
The beginnings of a first draft of something you didn't even know you needed to write
A new scene, image, or character pulled straight from the workshop theme and one of the most atmospheric cities on earth
The first lines of something that will actually lead you to a finished piece of work
Each workshop is limited to 8 participants, so be sure to secure your space via the registration form for each workshop below!
June 2026 Workshop Series “Interior City”
Workshop #1 6 June (Sat. 14:15-16:15): Self-Portrait in Fragments with Joy Waller
Workshop #2 13 June (Sat. 14:15-16:15): Decadence: Too Much? Never! with Brian Wood-Koiwa
Workshop #3 20 June (Sat. 14:15-16:15): Feelings as Atmosphere with Joy Waller
Workshop #4 27 June (Sat. 14:15-16:15): Neon & Ruin: The Gothic Noir with Brian Wood-Koiwa
Workshop #1 — Self-Portrait in Fragments with Joy Waller
Sat. 6 June 2026 14:15—16:15 in Hanzomon
Come assemble a self-portrait from memories, objects, contradictions, and fragments of everyday life.
We are rarely reducible to a single story. Instead, we reveal ourselves in pieces… Grocery lists, scraps of dialogue, train stations, bittersweet memories… In this workshop, we’ll explore how writers create vivid portraits of the self without relying on straightforward autobiography. Through guided exercises, discussion, dedicated writing time, and a supportive sharing circle, you’ll leave with new writing that captures identity not as a fixed story, but as a living collage.
This creative writing workshop is led by Joy Waller, co-founder of Moon Hotel Press, co-host of Drunk Poets See God, editor at Tokyo Poetry Journal, and co-founder of Urban Writing Haus creative writing workshops. Author of poetry collections Pause :: Heartbeat and Cosmic Nervosa. joywaller.com
Workshop #2 — Decadence: Too Much? Never! with Brian Wood-Koiwa
Sat. 13 June 2026 14:15—16:15 in Takadanobaba
Most of us have been told our entire writing lives to cut, trim, and simplify. In this workshop, we will celebrate maximalism, baroque language, and ornate excess as a deliberate subversive writing choice; to give you the freedom to go deep purple in your prose and verse. We will use the Decadence movement as our inspiration and channel their infamous war cry ‘Art for art’s sake’. Through guided exercises, discussion, and dedicated writing time, you will leave with the confidence to buck the gatekeeping system and celebrate writerly excess.
This creative writing workshop is led by Brian Wood-Koiwa, co-founder of Urban Writing Haus creative workshop series; author of the UrbanWeird serial novels Flowers Wilt, Weeds Thrive and Conspiracy of False Citizens; and literary and technical editor. He is also a photo walk guide here in Tokyo. urbanweird.com
Workshop #3 — Feelings as Atmosphere with Joy Waller
Sat. 20 June 2026 14:15—16:15 in TBD (Central Tokyo)
Every emotion changes the architecture of the world around us. The way anxiety flickers intermittently in fluorescent lights… Or nostalgia howls through train announcements and the beep of the rice cooker… And desire pulsates in neon-streaked puddles at midnight.
In this workshop, we’ll explore how writers can transform emotions into atmosphere through sensory detail, symbolism, rhythm, setting, and image. Through guided exercises, dedicated writing time, and shared reflection, you’ll create new work that captures emotional experience not through direct confession, but through the environments, objects, and textures that carry feeling for us.
This creative writing workshop is led by Joy Waller, co-founder of Moon Hotel Press, co-host of Drunk Poets See God, editor at Tokyo Poetry Journal, and co-founder of Urban Writing Haus creative writing workshops. Author of poetry collections Pause :: Heartbeat and Cosmic Nervosa. joywaller.com
Workshop #4 — Neon & Ruin: The Gothic Noir with Brian Wood-Koiwa
Sat. 27 June 2026 14:15—16:15 in Takadanobaba
This workshop will delve deep into the dark, neon splattered world of the Gothic Noir; a hybrid of two dark literary traditions: the Gothic, where the space’s past haunts the human, and Noir, where human cynicism and corruption haunt the present space. We will discuss and practice the stylistic tension between these two traditions and how we can use that tension to beautifully darken our writing. Through the guided exercises, discussion, and dedicated writing time, you will leave with a moodier, haunted hand and maybe the scent of petrichor in your wake.
The creative writing workshop led by Brian Wood-Koiwa, co-founder of Urban Writing Haus creative writing workshops; author of the UrbanWeird serial novels Flowers Wilt, Weeds Thrive and Conspiracy of False Citizens; and literary and technical editor. He is also a photo walk guide here in Tokyo. urbanweird.com
Keep an eye out for future Workshop Series
Meet Your Hosts
Joy Waller
Joy was raised in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada and spent her young adulthood on Vancouver Island. She currently resides in Tokyo, Japan, where she serves as an editor at the Tokyo Poetry Journal and co-hosts the long-standing open mic series Drunk Poets See God. She is also the co-founder of Moon Hotel Press and Urban Writing Haus creative writing workshops. Her fiction & poetry have appeared in numerous publications, including Best Canadian Stories 2021, and she is the author of poetry collections Pause :: Heartbeat (2019) and Cosmic Nervosa (2024).
Visit www.joywaller.com for more info.
Brian Wood-Koiwa
Brian was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania in the US but knew he really belonged in cities—the bigger the better. He was thus destined to settle in the megalopolis of Tokyo over 20 years ago. He is the co-founder of Urban Writing Haus creative writing workshops; author of the serialized UrbanWeird dark fantasy novels Flowers Wilt, Weeds Thrive and Conspiracy of False Citizens; literary and technical editor; and founder of Tokyo Photo Explorations.
Visit the following for more info:
UrbanWeird Chronicles (fiction); BWK Editorial Services (editing); Tokyo Photo Explorations (photo walks)