Steve Beimel has been involved with Japan for over half of his life. A Japanophile for thirty years, he founded Esprit Travel & Tours in the early 1990’s, as a U.S. based tour company specializing in culturally focused tours to Japan and catering to enthusiasts of the arts. “I created Esprit to assist travelers to Japan to get beyond a ‘sightseeing experience’ and truly connect to the culture and people here. Japan has so much richness to offer visitors. It has been my job to match people up with the right experiences, at the right times, so they can partake of that richness in all of its fullness."

Over the years, Steve has worked with a wide range of masters of traditional culture including art, crafts, architecture, gardens, music, theater, cuisine and religion. "The most fulfilling part of my Japan-related life is working with so many amazing and talented men and women. It has been a great privilege for me to introduce our tour participants to these people, in a true spirit of cultural exchange.”

In addition to his work at Esprit, for ten years Steve published the The Kyoto Diary, a quarterly journal celebrating the arts of Japan and featuring interviews with many of the Japan’s renowned craftsmen and artists. "It is very moving to witness and experience the focus, care and integrity of those who create or practice the Japanese crafts and arts.”

Steve now lives with his wife Ritsuko in the northern hills of Kyoto.

Steve has a B.A. in Sociology, an M.A. in Applied Psychology, and is fluent in Japanese and Spanish.

Santa Monica-based Andy Bender is a food and travel writer whose work has appeared in Travel & Leisure, Fortune and the Los Angeles Times, and he has contributed to the Lonely Planet Guide to Japan. In the late 1980s Andy worked in the financial industry in Japan and has since worked with Japanese businesses as both an employee and a consultant. He lived and studied in Japan for three years and he is fluent in Japanese and French, and has basic Mandarin and German skills as well.

He says, "I think there's no better place to be a visitor. It's as exotic as it is safe, and you can get almost anywhere by public transportation. I'm a guide with Esprit because I love helping visitors discover the same fascination I have for the country."

Andy has a B.A. degree in Psychology, an M.A. degree in International Studies with an East Asia Concentration and an M.B.A degree, all from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an avid hiker and has hiked in locations from the Berkshires to the Thai hill country to the Annapurna mountains in Nepal.

Nancy lived in Kyoto for six years studying various Japanese arts, including weaving and dyeing, katazome and papermaking. She continues to create and exhibit her artwork in Telluride, Colorado, where she lives now. She says, "I am at my best when I can explain about dye processes, basketry, different types of kimono weaving and other Japanese arts. I initially went to Japan to live there for one year and study indigo dying, but ended up staying for six, studying dyeing, weaving, papermaking, printmaking and more."

Nancy has been designing custom trips and leading tours to Japan for the past eight years and has designed several of Esprit's walking tours, planned custom independent travel and led tours to Japan and Nepal. She says, "I love showing people the wonderful art of Japan, the beautiful gardens, quirky culture and how the arts and culture interrelate."

Nancy has a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado. Aside from her interest in the arts, she is also an ardent environmentalist involved in projects like preserving open spaces. She is fluent in Japanese and French, and speaks passable Spanish.

Kiyo's first encounter with her ancestral roots was in 1972 during a year abroad in Kyoto as a foreign student immersed in language studies, classical Japanese dance and Noh drama. Modern dance aspirations later led her from UCLA to New York, but a return visit to Kyoto set the stage for what has become a life-long residency grounded in an ever-deepening infatuation with all aspects of Japanese culture.

She is an event planner and in-country facilitator for international artists and corporations, as well as a translator, teacher, writer and active participant in architectural restoration and preservation projects. Because of her extensive network, she has assisted in feature articles on Japan for such newspapers as The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. For the past 7 years, she has also been coordinating and leading tours throughout Japan. "I am naturally inclined to dive into anything that allows me to savor and share the bounty of Japan's cultural heritage. In that sense, leading tours has been a particularly rewarding experience for me," says Kiyo.

In addition to her multi-facetted activities, Kiyo is an aficionado and collector of Japanese art, crafts and antiques. Her traditional farmhouse has been featured on television and in numerous magazines and books.