Joy grew up above pearl harbor on Oahu, Hawaii and studied psychology in California before coming to 'try' living and working in Japan for a year or two which led to a lifelong love of the country. In the mid 90's she spent 2 years traveling around Asia before returning to Hiroshima, Japan in 1996 and has been based there ever since- loving the beauty of the islands, mountains, rivers and ocean.
Most of her career in Japan was as an Assistant Professor at a women's university for 21 years where she did research on sustainable tourism and gender issues while teaching communication, business and tourism courses. Joy has been 'walking the talk' by guiding her own tours since the borders reopened in 2023.
When not giving tours, Joy writes about sustainable travel in Japan, consults with destination managers and small businesses on creating international appeal, and hosts a regular talkshow-podcast called Seek-Sustainable-Japan.