For more than 15 years Anne has lived, studied, worked and traveled in Japan. She spent her junior year as an exchange student at Nanzan University in Nagoya. Upon graduating from college, Anne returned to Japan as part of the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching program, where she worked in the cultural affairs department of the Tottori prefecture government. After three years there, she returned to the US and worked as a cultural affairs officer for the Japanese Consulate General Office in San Francisco.

Anne has been a tour guide with Esprit since 1997 and has led many cultural walking tours of Japan. She says, "One of the things that initially fascinated me about Japan is that everything was nearly the opposite of how we do things as Americans — even the direction in which a door opens is different. However, once I lived there, it was the deep relationships I formed and the beauty of the language and the people that captured me."

Aside from her abiding fascination with Japan, Anne also has an avid yoga practice and writes articles for publication on Japanese topics. She holds a B.A. degree in Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese from Bowling Green State University and an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. She is fluent is Japanese, was quite conversant in Spanish at one time and still understands it well, and has studied Russian.

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.

Michael has over 15 years of experience living, traveling, working and studying in Japan. Two of his undergraduate years were spent at the Jochi/Sophia University there. Following college, Michael was accepted into the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program and taught English in junior high schools in the Japanese countryside. He went on to serve as Coordinator for International Relations in the International Affairs division of the Japanese government. Upon returning to the US, he went to work for a Japanese trading company.

Michael has led more than 25 tours to Japan with Esprit and his knowledge of Japan is deep and wide. Whether it is garden aesthetics and design, architecture, the tea ceremony, or a visit with a Zen priest, it is his joy to share his appreciation of Japan with others. He says, "I love the beauty, serenity and attention to every detail in Japan — how the vast majority of Japanese people have the full intention to do their best in every action. The way in which the Japanese relate with others is very beautiful and gracious."

Aside from his love for Japan, Michael is passionate about music and plays the trumpet. He is fluent in Japanese, and speaks basic Spanish and a bit of Italian. He holds a B.A. degree in Japanese magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota and a M.A. in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

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.