Here Are Some of the Women You Will Meet in Japan
One of the things people wonder most before joining a Girl Gone International trip is who else will be there.
There is no single type of woman who comes on a GGI trip.
Some have lived abroad for years. Some are still figuring out where home is. Some are experienced travellers, while others are doing something that pushes them a little outside their comfort zone. Some arrive knowing someone, but many come completely on their own. Some love being in the middle of everything, while others enjoy having a little space and quiet time too.
What they have in common is a willingness to say yes to something new, and that is exactly who is coming to Japan.
Over the course of our adventure, we’ll explore Japan - from Tokyp to Kyoto - together, experience its cities, traditions, food and culture and share all those little moments in between that tend to turn a group of strangers into people you are very glad you met.
So, here are some of the women you’ll be travelling through Japan with.
Don’t see yourself here yet? Send us your introduction and photo and we’ll add you!
Don't see yourself here yet? Upload your intro and photo here and we will add you! https://forms.gle/5VPPaDvzsFoKewqTA
Meet Olivia : Your Lead Guide and Host
Olivia is our Trip Leader and host for Japan, as well as a Global Community Mentor for Girl Gone International and an active part of our Tokyo community.
Originally from Chicago, Olivia first came to Japan as a university student and later chose Tokyo as her home. She has now spent her entire adult life in Japan and knows the country not simply as somewhere she visits, but as the place where she has built her life, friendships and community.
Her love of the wider world started early. She studied abroad in Japan and Russia, speaks English, Japanese and Russian, plus bits of several other languages, and has always been fascinated by how differently people around the world live and see things.
Olivia found GGI when she was looking for more internationally minded women in Tokyo and quickly became much more than a member. She helped rebuild the Tokyo community after Covid, created and hosted events and went on to support other GGI communities globally as a mentor. In 2025, her Tokyo team had the highest number of events per host of any GGI community in the world, something she is particularly proud of.
She also accidentally became a runner through GGI. What began as a simple 5K event grew into the GGI Tokyo Run Club, a group of friends who have since taken on 10Ks and longer distances together. It sums up a lot of what Olivia loves about GGI: seeing what can happen when women find each other, encourage each other and try something new together.
Outside all of that, expect David Bowie, cats, karaoke, skiing, running and plenty of opinions. She remains loyal to Chicago as possibly the best city in the world, although Tokyo is very firmly home.
Most importantly for us, Olivia cannot wait to show you the Japan she knows and loves and to lead us from Tokyo to Kyoto on this adventure together.
Meet Vola : Your Trip Co-Host and Guide
Vola is originally from Madagascar and has spent much of her life moving between different countries, so for her, home is less about where you were born and more about where you have chosen to put down roots.
She has now lived in Japan for four years, works in the travel industry and is one of our Girl Gone International community hosts in Tokyo.
If you have spent any time around GGI Tokyo, there is a good chance Vola has been behind something fun. She has hosted everything from morning coffees, book clubs and farmers market visits to picnics, live music nights, forest walks, movie outings, sound baths and coffee walks around the city.
That local knowledge is exactly what she is bringing to our Japan trip.
Vola is looking forward to sharing the beauty of Japan with you, but also helping you experience some of the side of Tokyo that is harder to find as a visitor: the favourite coffee spots, places for music and dancing and those little local discoveries you usually only find when someone who lives there shows you the way.
Having grown up internationally herself, she also knows how special it is when women from different places come together and very quickly start to feel like a community.
Meet Anna
Anna is originally from Ukraine and now calls Hannover, Germany home. She works as Head of Customer Service for a packaging company, is studying for her MBA and is also one of our Girl Gone International community leaders, volunteering as Lead of Mentors for the DACH region.
Living in a country with a very different cultural background from her own, as well as travelling frequently, means the international life is very much part of Anna’s story.
Japan has been on her radar, but she didn’t particularly want to experience it alone, so joining a group of women felt like the perfect opportunity. She’s especially excited to explore a completely new country and culture together.
Anna speaks German, Russian and English, plus some French. She loves travelling, Latin dancing and describes herself as someone who can be just a little bit sarcastic.
Her advice to anyone nervous about joining a group trip? Talk to women who have already done it, ask lots of questions and find out whether it feels right for you.
Anna, using recommendations from our Japan guides, will be leading some of our optional social meetups in the evening so you don't have to be nervous about eating alone (but feel free to do so if you wish!) or unsure about what to do in the free time in the evenings!
Meet Geeke
Geeke is from the Netherlands and currently lives there too, although she has also spent time living in Latvia, so she knows what it feels like to build a life somewhere new.
She works as an entertainment journalist, having previously worked in police journalism and children’s media. Outside work, her interests are brilliantly varied: scary films, iced coffee, baking pastries, sweet cocktails, Eurovision, concerts, karaoke, theme parks, dancing and reading about religion, spirituality and philosophy.
Geeke first found GGI when she moved within the Netherlands for study and work and wanted to meet more women to explore and have fun with. After having such positive experiences with the GGI community at home, choosing GGI for Japan felt like the obvious choice.
This will be her first time in Asia, and she is especially excited about the food, culture and finally experiencing a country that has fascinated her for years. Just as importantly, she is looking forward to sharing it with women from around the world and creating memories together.
She speaks Dutch and English, some Korean and can understand a fair amount of German, French and Russian.
And what should you know about travelling with Geeke? She says people tend to experience one of two versions of her: the quiet woman observing from the corner or the person suddenly doing karaoke with people she met one minute ago. She can also dance convincingly to almost any kind of music, even if she has never heard it before.
Her advice if you’re nervous about joining? Try it. You may meet friends for life, but even if you don’t, you’ll still share experiences with other women who came for exactly the same reason: connection, adventure and a chance to make some very good memories.
Meet Shaghi
Shaghi is originally from Iran and Germany and now calls Malaysia home. She loves living internationally and describes herself as a citizen of the world, someone who enjoys experiencing different countries and cultures and believes each new place helps her grow into a better version of herself.
She is also already part of the GGI Gone International travel family. After having a brilliant time with us in Iceland and Scotland, she decided Japan should be the next adventure.
For Shaghi, one of the best parts of these trips is simply being surrounded by other international women, and she is looking forward to another journey full of new experiences, laughter and amazing GGIs.
She is currently learning through one of her favourite pastimes too: watching Chinese dramas to improve her listening skills.
And her advice to anyone sitting on the fence about joining a GGI trip is wonderfully simple:
“Just do it!”
Meet Rachel
Rachel is from New York City, where she works as a Growth leader at an advertising agency based in Minneapolis.
Travel has always been a big part of her life. She studied abroad in college, travels often and even explored moving to London at one point in her career - that is how she found Girl Gone International.
Rachel was not sure about the idea of group travel at the start. But this is now Rachel's third Gone International trip! Her first trip was to Iceland and the second to Andalucia, Spain. One of the things she loves most about group travel is getting to experience somewhere new alongside other like-minded women.
Japan has been calling for all the right reasons. Rachel is especially excited to experience the culture and, in her words, “all the cute things with faces on them.” Her main concern may simply be keeping her wallet under control once the shopping begins.
This will also be Rachel’s longest flight ever, which she admits feels a little nerve-racking, but the adventure waiting at the other end is making it worth it.
Outside work, Rachel hosts a podcast, started a run club and, when she first moved to New York, spent her weekends volunteering at a bookstore.
Her advice to anyone considering a (Girl) Gone International trip?
“So much fun awaits! It’s amazing to not only see a new place, but meet new friends from all over the world.”
And having travelled with Anne before, she says: “Anne plans trips that allow you to have experiences you won’t find anywhere else.”