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I want to choose a new path because I can encounter scenery I never imagined.

Akiyo Yura, Editor-in-Chief of "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook"

At Gakken headquarters with a copy of "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook" from Suginami Ward, where she once lived.

Since its launch in 1979, the travel guidebook "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook" has introduced the attractions of various parts of the world. Today, its scope extends beyond the "global" to include a wide range of topics, including domestic editions, collaborative projects, and product development. Akiyo Yura, currently the editor-in-chief of "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook," is an alumna of the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences I at Waseda University. The source of his continued challenge as an editor, overcoming the obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted people's travels, is the "traveler's mind" she has cultivated since her student days.

In search of things that can only be understood by visiting the site

Yura has loved traveling since her student days. Her first overseas trip was to Italy during her university days. She has since traveled around the world, performing on stage in an off-Broadway live performance with audience participation in New York, and had an unforgettable encounter on a train trip from Vienna to Portugal during her graduation trip.

"At Schönbrunn Palace, a World Heritage Site in Vienna, a Japanese person walked towards me, so I struck up a conversation with him. I discovered he was a Waseda University student, and we were in the same department. We had never met in four years on the university campus, so I thought, 'How could we meet in Vienna?!' We became good friends, and we're still friends with our families today."

This photo was taken when she performed with the Blue Man Group in New York (left). The lunch box she received as a thank you for participating contained a mushy banana (right).

As an undergraduate, I majored in theater and film, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of live arts, including theater. ​Under the guidance of Associate Professor Osamu Wada (Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences), she devoted herself to fieldwork studying Japanese folk performing arts, visiting various places and experiencing them to nourish herself.

"I went to Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture to see a puppet show, and to experience the Gunjo Odori, a traditional Bon dance in Gifu Prefecture. This applies to traveling as well, but I realized that the passion and artistry that the local people bring to the table, and the feel of the land, can't be fully grasped through videos or books alone; you can only understand it by being there in person."

Yura, who focused her job search on publishing companies and joined the editorial department of "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook" after graduating, also placed importance on "things that can only be understood by going to the place in question."

"As producers, we are in a position to oversee the entire project, and we ask external staff to do much of the actual production. That said, if I don't know the area myself, I can't provide direction or suggest projects, so I travel whenever I can, mainly in the areas I'm responsible for, and try to include any troubles or experiences I encounter there in the book."

Left: July 2023, Aix-en-Provence market, France
Right: A photo taken during a reporting trip to Egypt in January 2025

In addition to her daily editing duties, she launched a new project in 2010: a guidebook for women, "aruco." She defined "mini-adventures" as experiences that pique one's curiosity while traveling, and promoted the new appeal of travel.

"We defined 'mini-adventures' as aspirations that can be achieved if you know how to do them and muster a little courage, such as treasure hunting at a flea market where Parisians gather, or trying the cafeteria at the University of Vienna, and came up with ideas for them. As a result, we were delighted to see that we were able to reach women in their 20s and 30s, a demographic that had not been reached by the previous 'Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook'. 'aruco' will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2025. Now, we have colleagues who joined the company saying, 'I love aruco,' and this is a great encouragement to us."

She is not afraid of new challenges and enjoys them. The source of this attitude is her experience working hard at Waseda Links (an official student club) which she belonged to during her university days. Waseda Links was founded in 1996 when Yura was a freshman at university. It was an editing club that produced websites and free papers in the early time of the Internet, when Windows 95 was released the previous year, with the aim of connecting and linking people through the Internet.

"For example, at the time, it was common for students to come to school and check the bulletin board to find out about class cancellations, but we thought that if we could look into it and post it online, there would be no need for students to come all the way to school. Well, I personally had a fairly analog role, going to school to look up class cancellations (laughs). But it was a great experience to be involved in student club that had just been launched and experience the excitement of providing a service that was not yet available around us, like a venture company."

A photo from student club training camp. Yura is third from the left in the top row. She was a classmate of Mercari founder Shintaro Yamada (2000 graduate School of Education, second from the left in the top student club).

The importance of a "traveler's mindset" that doesn't stop you thinking when faced with difficulties

Yura's job involves her love of "traveling," and she also gained experience cultivating a new demographic with the launch of "aruco." Her seemingly smooth journey as an editor turned into a major challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, urging people to stay home and discouraging people from going out. While many industries faced difficult times, the travel industry was a prime example, with the travel guidebook "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook" facing the risk of being shut down.

Amidst all this, Yura launched a project called "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook JoJo's Bizarre Adventure." The collaboration with Hirohiko Araki's popular manga "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" (Shueisha), which has spun stories set around the world, became a major catalyst in terms of both buzz and sales.

"Travel guidebooks are originally non-fiction, documentary-like. I think of them as documents that contain detailed information about the country and city at the time of publication. By combining this with manga, it acquires entertainment value and has been able to expand new possibilities. The more you love 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure', the more you'll enjoy it, as it is packed with nerdy information that will be enjoyable for you, and I've made it so that it will be useful for actual travel, so I feel that I have been able to expand the possibilities of guidebooks."

There are other hits that were born out of adversity. Originally produced in preparation for the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook Tokyo" met the needs of readers during the COVID-19 pandemic who wanted to explore nearby places if they couldn't travel far, and became a hit, selling over 100,000 copies. This set off a trend of more than 25 domestic versions.

"The key to overcoming the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic was to keep thinking. I call it a 'traveler's mindset.' Traveling inevitably comes with problems, but how do you overcome them? Or rather than letting them make you sick, how can you turn them into happy memories? This mindset is useful even after you enter society."

"Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" © Hirohiko Araki & LUCKY LAND COMMUNICATIONS/Shueisha (left), "Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook Tokyo" (right)

Yura herself continues to travel in order to further hone her "traveler's mind."

"As you get older, you start to notice more and more things like, 'This scenery looks similar to that place,' or 'I've tasted this before.' Because there are fewer 'new encounters,' when I travel, I sometimes choose paths that aren't on the map. When I visited Macau last year, I came across a road that wasn't in the guidebook, so I walked it and was greeted with an astonishingly beautiful view. It was also a shortcut to my destination, and I felt like I'd gained something. In the same way, starting something new is like walking a path that's not on the map. While there is anxiety about whether you'll arrive safely, you might encounter a breathtaking view you never imagined, a place that feels like a reward, or a unique person. I cherish this kind of awareness."

In 2024, Yura went to Macau privately with a friend from her student days (left). While walking towards a building designed by Zaha Hadid, she discovered a road that wasn't on the map (right). Yura says she tries not to take the same route on the way there and back in search of new encounters.

Finally, she sends a message to students, asking them to experience more travel.

"Distance doesn't matter. Even nearby places are fine. Traveling is ultimately an act of self-reflection. Traveling really helps you understand what you like and dislike, and what really moves you. If you haven't found anything you can devote yourself to yet, I encourage you to go on a trip and cherish the movements of your heart and the chance encounters you have."