MIA MIA is a café opened by Vaughan Allison and his wife, Rie, in 2020. It has since expanded to include a sister shop and gallery, a collaboration café, and a newly opened café/bar and hotel.

How long has Vaughan Allison lived in Japan?

Vaughan Allison has spent almost half of his life in Japan.

What does Vaughan prioritize in his business?

Vaughan prioritizes connection over convenience, encouraging guests at MIA MIA to take their time and savor meaningful experiences.

Living Japan: Mia Mia's Vaughan Allison on Creating Communities

In the second installment of the Voyapon series Living Japan, we profile charismatic coffee entrepreneur Vaughan Allison.

Mornings in the Tokyo district of Higashi-Nagasaki are particularly tranquil. Children in colorful caps make their way to school, local businesses raise their shutters, and well-dressed office workers ascend the station steps to begin their short commute to Ikebukuro. Just outside the station, at local café MIA MIA, the day begins much the same; as the cool January sun begins to stream through its tall windows, subtle notes of Japanese jazz and the inviting aromas of freshly brewed coffee beckon customers through the door like a siren’s song. Soon enough, this stillness may be met with the energetic sound of clapping. Enter MIA MIA’s equally enthusiastic owner, Vaughan Allison. A business owner, model, MC, English teacher, and much more, Vaughan (as he is known throughout Tokyo by his mononymous label) exudes positivity in such a way that you will be taking some of it away with you after chatting with him.

Vaughan Allison speaking in front of an audience

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Vaughan has now spent almost half of his life in Japan, during which time he has not only built a business, but communities. Alongside his architect wife, Rie Allison, Vaughan opened well-known coffee shop MIA MIA in 2020 and since then it has been joined by a sister shop and gallery (I AM), collaboration café with CIBI (MIA MIA Kitasando), and a newly opened café/bar and hotel (MIA MIA Kuramae). Despite the active Aussie rarely sitting down, I recently spoke with Vaughan about his journey in Japan, his lessons for those looking to settle, and his optimistic outlook heading into 2026. The perfect read for those needing that final push of encouragement to settle in Japan or start their own business.

Table of Contents

From Australia With Love
Connecting Cultures Through Coffee
Fitting in Japan
Try Everything

From Australia With Love

It’s clear when chatting with Vaughan that he prioritizes connection over convenience. A mantra that is imbued within MIA MIA, where guests are implored to take their time. Much like how a delectable brew cannot be rushed, meaningful experiences should be savored. First arriving in Japan at the tender age of 13, Vaughan spent two weeks with a host family. Immediately entranced by the sounds of Shibuya scramble and the dancing neon lights of Tokyo’s sensory overload, Vaughan soon came to appreciate the more personal aspects of Japanese living. Despite it being a childhood memory, the emotions were clear, for it was the people who captured his heart. Drawn to their spirit, the respectful nature of daily interactions, the levels of attentiveness, even in a metropolis as frenetic as Tokyo, there was order without chaos. This overarching sense of mutual respect never left him, and as Vaughan tells me, the sparkle never dimmed.

Connecting Cultures Through Coffee

As anyone planning to book a trip to Japan will discover, Tokyo’s coffee culture is influential and electric, almost as if it too is running on caffeine. Yet, many of these fabulous cafés have themselves been influenced by the cultures that surround them. Be it Indonesian, Turkish, or Australian, a café in Tokyo may be viewed through a worldwide lens. Vaughan, too, had his influences, one of the most notable being Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar in Melbourne.

“Australian baristas have an incredible ability to read a room,” Vaughan says. They notice everything, they feel the energy, and they curate a vibe. It is the veteran baristas, the café owners, who are the masters of this craft. An invisible skill, perhaps, but they make people smile. They make them come back. As Vaughan notes, “They wake you up twice — once with the coffee, and once with genuine human connection.” For the ever-smiling Australian, no one epitomized such warmth quite like Sisto Malaspina, the late owner of Pelligrini’s. The way that Sisto would treat every single customer, Vaughan adds, set the standard for what a barista should aspire to.

Coffee shops offer more than just caffeine; they offer a human connection. As Vaughan laments, Japan may serve some of the most exceptional drips and lattes, but what is often missing is a ‘third place;’ that escape between home and work where friends and strangers alike can connect. Despite the world being at our fingertips, modern society is becoming increasingly distant. Few social media pages highlight Japan’s loneliness epidemic, but the reality is that voluntary isolation is only growing. Vaughan hopes that coffee shops in Tokyo can operate more like Pellegrini’s does in Melbourne, where customers are treated as friends. Rather poetically illustrating this belief, he stated that “coffee may change a morning, but people can change lives.”

Fitting in Japan

When I asked him about his initial time acclimatizing to a permanent life in Japan, Vaughan informs me that the change of state was relatively fast. Unsurprisingly, owing to his personable disposition, it was the small efforts that bore the most fruit. Bowing, nodding, simply acknowledging one another without the need for words, it was those silent gestures that displayed a deep, human connection. Certainly, useful for any first-time tourist, merely returning a slight bow can make quite a difference.

Vaughan Allison showing a scarf — Left photo: Blue Bottle collaboration Right photo: MIA MIA Kuramae

Vaughan Allison in a balcony — Left photo: Blue Bottle collaboration Right photo: MIA MIA Kuramae

Even during the most challenging times, especially following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Vaughan’s desire to make a life in Japan never wavered. From Australia but now deep-rooted in Japan, the challenges he faced were more practical than cultural. The language barrier and Kafkaesque nature of Japanese bureaucracy necessitated that he lean on those around him for support, realizing early on that it was a fool’s errand to push on alone. It is through these experiences that he could shape a vision for MIA MIA.

Try Everything

Whether he is wearing the hat of a café owner, an MC, a model, an English teacher, or simply a friend to ask advice from, Vaughan’s willingness to dip his toe in any figurative pool, no matter the temperature, has influenced his outlook on both Japan and our modern-day society. With many events happening in the following months, from magazine shoots and public talks to live music performances at MIA MIA, it is the constant flow of unique interactions that keeps Vaughan going, not just the caffeine.

Vaughan runs MIA MIA in much the same way in which he runs his own life, always looking for that human connection. When I ask him about where to begin when opening a café, he says that one of the fundamental purposes is just to spread good culture. “If we can create spaces where people connect, share, and feel inspired, that’s when a coffee shop becomes more than just a café.”

MIA MIA café — Morning *rajio* *taiso* or radio exercises at Mia Mia in Tokyo’s Nagasaki neighborhood.

This spirit of adventure is the cornerstone of Vaughan’s advice for any aspiring tourist or future foreign resident. “Japan is full of amazing people — talented, curious, and serious about so many different things. Always ask questions, stay curious, and your life will blossom!”