Kat Joplin ⭐️ Le Horla Mizrahi
@katjoplin.bsky.social
Journalist, author, drag queen. Very Queer™️ I'm the primary English language writer covering Tokyo's drag and ballroom scenes. 🌈🌈
Excited!!! My long-awaited article for Voyapon, rounding up the best places to watch drag in Tokyo. Like a total playground writing this one! voyapon.com/tokyos-drag-... #drag #dragqueen #japandrag #tokyodrag #dragking
Tokyo’s Drag Circuit: The Guide to Wild Nights
Kat Joplin, writing for Voyapon, spills the beans about the best places to experience drag in all its glory in Tokyo.
voyapon.com
My article interviewing director Kim Longinotto on her seminal LGBTQ documentary, Shinjuku Boys, has just been published on QueerAF! #queernews #shinjukuboys #queercinema #documentary www.wearequeeraf.com/30-years-lat...
30 years later, Director Kim Longinotto Looks Back on the Making of Shinjuku Boys
As the world sees a dramatic uptick in anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, co-director Kim Longinotto looks back on her behind-the-scenes joy shooting the film
wearequeeraf.com
My first article with Business Insider just launched!! Many thanks to Mr. Murata for the in-depth interview about his new villa project in Mie. Murata is part of an important counter-mainstream movement to revitalise small Japanese towns. www.businessinsider.com/quit-job-mov... #japan #akiya
I traded Tokyo's crowds for my hometown of 8,000 people. Now, I'm trying to help save it from disappearing.
Koyo Murata transformed an abandoned community center in rural Japan into a modern guesthouse to help bring visitors back to his hometown.
businessinsider.com
You might have to make an account to read this, but it's free. Fantastic article about my ballroom father Andre Mizrahi. hyperallergic.com/the-ballroom...
The Ballroom Icon Who Paved a New Way
Amid all of the kitty-kat meow of today’s Vogue Fem performers, Andre Mizrahi Clark has the stern, calm energy of a lion tipping on its toes.
hyperallergic.com
Excited to announce that I was selected fora 2026 Excellence in Journalism award by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists! Really pleased, floored, excited. 💦 Congratulations to this year's other winners as well!
New travel article about one of my favourite spots, Minakami in Gunma, is up! voyapon.com/minakami-gun...
Minakami, Gunma: Japan’s Hidden Treasure
Kat Joplin travels to Minakami and covers the outdoor activities and cultural hotspots in this fascinating part of Gunma Prefecture.
voyapon.com
Reminder that Namnam are being kicked out of their space by their landlords & need help to relocate. If you can help keep this community doing what it's doing 👇 chuffed.org/project/1774...
Save NAMNAM Space
Gentrification Is Forcing Us Out. Help NAMNAM Space Rebuild!
chuffed.org
New event! 📆6th June 🕕6pm JST The Namnam space team host "Variety Show: Queer the Whole Time" at TKA4 Koenji, Tokyo! W/ Camp Kona, Kenzo Martini, @katjoplin.bsky.social, Ma, Armaiti the Goddess, miss sporadical, kotono in midnight, pualiwen & DJ WARCLAY!! Details: www.instagram.com/p/DZAO7V0kr3R
This is part of the We Can't Be Erased lesson, which looks at Trans+ communities in Tokyo with @katjoplin.bsky.social Get the Trans+ history lesson you never had ⬇️
The ultimate toolkit to shut down lies about Trans+ people
Free resource with lessons and ideas for how you can make our history better known to drown out pernicious lies
wearequeeraf.com
Kat Joplin revisits a landmark 1995 documentary following three “onabe” protagonists navigating Tokyo’s rough nightlife industry @katjoplin.bsky.social
We can't be erased: 30 years on, the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys
Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.
wearequeeraf.com
“Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.” @katjoplin.bsky.social reflects on Japan’s queer scene thirty years on from a defining documentary www.wearequeeraf.com/we-cant-be-e...
We can't be erased: 30 years on, the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys
Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.
wearequeeraf.com
@katjoplin.bsky.social revisits a landmark 1995 documentary following three “onabe” protagonists as they navigate their transmasc identities while working Tokyo’s rough nightlife industry
We can't be erased: 30 years on, the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys
Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.
wearequeeraf.com
🏳️⚧️ Thirty years on from a pivotal documentary about Trans masc communities in Tokyo, @katjoplin.bsky.social looks back to explore the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys 👇
We can't be erased: 30 years on, the legacy of the Shinjuku Boys
Beneath the flashing lights and Marlboro ads of late 20th-century Tokyo, a tiny community carves out a place for itself.
wearequeeraf.com
My article on Chloe Douglas and Gordon Higgins's upcoming event, Wi Deh Yah!, is up!! This queer art event will be raising money for Jamaica's reconstruction efforts following hurricane Melissa. #queerjapan #tokyo #jamaica #hurricanemelissa #lgbtq www.japantimes.co.jp/community/20...
Tokyo LGBTQ fundraiser to raise money for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa
Organizers blend art, drag and Jamaican cuisine to support marginalized communities still recovering from last year’s devastating storm.
japantimes.co.jp
2️⃣ Rediscover the trans masculine community of Tokyo - three decades later - with @katjoplin.bsky.social www.wearequeeraf.com/dotheworkbook/
Defenestration Magazine has published my humour piece. 🤭 Rather the opposite of your typical travel article. www.defenestrationmag.net/2026/01/how-...
"How [Not] to Visit a Japanese Hot Spring," by Kat Joplin
Advice from a Seasoned Professional My first time living in Japan—properly living, not touristing—was in a small town called Nakatsu, Oita Prefecture, where I worked as a middle school English teache...
defenestrationmag.net
A snapshot look into my day-to-day life, "My Japan," has been published by Voyapon! The drag, ballroom, and journalism joy of Tokyo voyapon.com/my-japan-dra...
My Japan: A Week of Drag Queens, Ballroom, and Queer Joy
Voyapon contributor, Kat Joplin, details a week in her life in Tokyo as a drag performer, teacher, and flâneuse.
voyapon.com
The QueerAF Workbook featuring my articles on Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams's documentary, Shinjuku Boys, and on Tokyo-based trans and Deaf activist Monkey Takano is available for download!! www.wearequeeraf.com/new-free-res... So wonderful as always getting to work with @wearequeeraf.com.
New free resource: The ultimate toolkit to shut down lies about Trans+ People
Tips, lessons and ideas for how you can make our history better known to drown out pernicious lies
wearequeeraf.com
From how gender diversity in families is nothing new (@willofwands.bsky.social) to rediscovering the Shinjuku boys with @katjoplin.bsky.social, the workbook delves into four Trans+ history stories you never had 🏳️⚧️
Yayayay Failbetter literature journal just published my speculative fiction!! #sciencefiction #speculativefiction #writing failbetter.com/content/soon...
Soon We Will All Be Satou
Ms. Sasaki Yoshiko is coming down the road in her wide floppy hat and long gloves and apron,
failbetter.com
Really happy with this new Tokyo Review piece. Not only is it an important topic in and of itself, but I think Japanese municipal politics in general deserve much more attention.
Tokyo Review@tokyoreview.net · 8mo ago"Japan’s low levels of street protest have not produced disengagement; participation has migrated online", Rina Komiya writes, as she explains how digital outrage increasingly manages to derail local inclusion policies in Japan.
More Mystique pics from the Alex Dragicevic shoot #mystique #xmen #cosplay #drag #dragcosplay #tokyodrag
My article on the rise of pet funerals in Japan is live!! Very excitingly, my editor suggested I reach out to Barbara Ambros, a professor of East Asian religion and human-animal relationships, whose work I have read a great deal. Beautiful to research. www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
In Japan, beloved pets receive human-style farewells
Japan has the highest rate of cremation in the world, and increasingly, that applies to departed pets as well.
japantimes.co.jp
My article about the origins of drag brunch & its introduction to Japan is live on Voyapon! Includes details about the brunches organized by Aika Markova, Miku Divine, and the TenCups team in Tokyo, Labianna Joroe and Brian Rentz. #dragbrunch #drag #queerentertainment voyapon.com/tokyo-drag-b...
Tokyo Drag Brunch: The Most Important Meal of the Day
Kat Joplin navigates through the history and recent popularity of drag brunches in Japan where everyone is welcome to enjoy the food and show.
voyapon.com
Ballroom primer Part 2 is up!!! Photos by Rino Emmei and Don Whigan voyapon.com/japan-ballro...
Japan Ballroom: A Step-by-Step Guide for Newcomers
Like a two-tier lunch box, Japan ballroom can best be understood as two, adjacent and overlapping scenes: the major and kiki scenes writes Kat Joplin, Voyapon's LGBTQ correspondent.
voyapon.com
Part 1 of my ballroom primer piece! A history of ballroom in Japan. Features the photos many friends and colleagues I've been privileged to meet in the scene, thanks also to the excellent photographers including (but not limited to) Rino Ninja, J. Elle Harris, Shen Wei Hung, and Christopher Sy.
An Introduction to Japan Ballroom
Voyapon's LGBTQ columnist, Kat Joplin, documents the vibrant ballroom scene in Tokyo which welcomes everyone who accepts its world view.
voyapon.com
Interview with Kosmic Sans, a beloved Tokyo drag queen, is now live on the Tulip Wolf Journal! @kosmicsans.bsky.social @tulip-wolf-journal.bsky.social
She Came from Outer Space: An Interview with Kosmic Sans, Tokyo’s Techno-Queen
By Kat Joplin – I try to celebrate all kinds of femininity. I don’t tuck too much, I don’t need to proportionalize. It’s okay to be flat, to have no ass, no hips, to be a little masc! I want to show d...
tulipwolfjournal.com
The first article in a new column I'm writing for Voyapon! A primer for people new to Shinjuku Ni-chōme and Tokyo's other gay neighborhoods, featuring quotations by Don Cortez and bartender Yuna Sun, tons of photos by Michael Judd. Excited to have the piece out! voyapon.com/ni-chome-shi...
Shinjuku Ni-chome: Tokyo's Vibrant LGBTQ Hub
Voyapon delves into Tokyo's wonderful Shinjuku Ni-chome area, a well-established hub for the capital's LGBTQ communities.
voyapon.com
