I travel to feel at home in the world.

How Yorimichi began

My name is Sharmane Fury. I am a travel advisor, longtime community builder, Mixed femme, widow, and solo traveler who believes that exploring the world does not have to mean rushing through it. My approach to travel is thoughtful, culturally curious, and comfortably paced, with plenty of room for rest, wandering, and unexpected discoveries.

Travel has always been something I dreamed about and made space for whenever I could. I often traveled solo because of finances or because my husband, Tristan, a philosopher, was perfectly content spending long stretches of time in his thinking chair while I went out to explore. I became comfortable taking myself to museums, restaurants, the movies, and unfamiliar places long before I thought of it as solo travel.

Tristan died in November 2023, eight months after we moved to Mérida, Mexico. We were finally taking steps toward adventuring together, and then he died. I returned to the United States four months later and began taking what I called grief trips.

Some of these trips took me to places Tristan and I had imagined visiting together. Others brought me to friends and family so we could grieve our loss in the same room. These early journeys carried me around the United States and abroad to Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Even in the heaviest parts of my grief, I often felt a little lighter while wandering somewhere unfamiliar. These were not fast-paced trips filled with activities, early mornings, and lists of landmarks. Most of the time, I simply wandered.

The trips also reminded me how deeply I had always wanted to see the world. As a Mixed person, I have ethnic, cultural, and family ties around the globe. I am drawn to learning more about the cultures and histories that shaped me.

Along the way, I discovered what slow travel could mean for me. I allowed myself to be soft. When I did not feel like going anywhere, I stayed at the hotel. When I wanted to walk without a destination, I followed whichever street caught my attention. I rested when I needed to, changed my plans without guilt, and found beautiful places I might have missed if I had been rushing toward the next scheduled attraction.

Over time, travel became part of how I rebuilt my confidence, independence, and curiosity about the world.

The idea for Yorimichi Travel began to take shape after a conversation with a friend who had also recently become widowed. She told me that she admired my ability to travel alone, especially internationally. Until then, I had not fully realized how unusual or intimidating solo travel felt to many people.

Once she pointed it out, I began seeing that hesitation everywhere in women and femmes. I saw it in social media posts, YouTube videos, online communities, and conversations with women who were afraid to go alone even to a local movie or restaurant. It occurred to me that this was something I might be able to help with.

For eight years, I hosted Militantly Mixed, the first long-form podcast devoted to Mixed-race identity. A genuine community of Mixed and multiracial people formed around the show. I developed real life friendships and received countless emails, messages, and comments from listeners who said the podcast helped them feel more comfortable in their Mixed skin and more confident being their "Mixed-ass self," as the show's motto encouraged.

That experience taught me what can happen when people have honest conversations, access to practical resources, and a community that understands the layers of their experiences.

With Yorimichi Travel, I want to offer that same kind of support to women and femmes who are curious about solo travel but feel unsure about taking the first step, particularly those in BIPOC communities. Many of us experience major transitions through widowhood, retirement, perimenopause, changing relationships, relocation, or a growing desire to live differently. During those shifts, we may begin asking what we want our lives to feel like now.

I believe travel can be one way to explore that question.

My work focuses on helping women and femmes of color build the confidence to travel independently and create experiences that feel safe, culturally thoughtful, comfortably paced, and genuinely suited to them. That might mean planning a first solo journey, researching a possible move abroad, spending an afternoon in a neighborhood café, or creating an itinerary with plenty of open space to rest and wander.

That is the spirit behind Yorimichi Travel.

I do not believe every hour of a trip needs to be planned or every famous attraction needs to be checked off a list. I believe in thoughtful preparation, gentle exploration, meaningful cultural experiences, and enough breathing room to follow your curiosity. If that sounds appealing to you, Yorimichi Travel might be able to help.

Sometimes the best part of a journey is the quiet morning you did not schedule, the side street you decided to follow, the small family-owned café away from the crowds, or the moment you realize that you feel comfortable moving through the world on your own.

Yorimichi Travel is here to help you prepare for the journey, trust yourself along the way, and find joy in the detours.