Takashi Miyata, 44, editor-in-chief of Japanese overseas travel guidebook series “Chikyu no Arukikata,” couldn't believe his eyes when he saw sales data from bookstores across the country on the series' first domestic edition, "Tokyo."

After it hit the shelves in September 2020, the edition soon became a bestseller, offering the publisher a light at the end of the tunnel after its business was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially, the Tokyo edition had targeted tourists who would be visiting the capital for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.