Dennis, Tokyo Walk Leader
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Dennis backpacked around Asia for over a year before deciding to settle in Japan. He spent 4 years living in the beautiful countryside near Mt. Fuji working at school for blind children before settling in Tokyo and starting a family. He is a fan of all Japanese cuisine but especially loves home-cooked Japanese meals and is constantly searching out the best mom-and-pop restaurants across Japan, some of which have become his family away from home.

Keilene, Tokyo Walk Leader
Made in Japan but assembled around the globe, having to constantly relocate for her father’s tourism business, Keilene’s mother combined and improvised with the available ingredients for Japanese recipes. These were the fusion dishes that were on the table growing up bicultural and of Japanese descent and created a bond to her home country, Japan. After her studies at Parson’s, Keilene decided to leave the US to pursue a career in fashion in Tokyo. She soon rediscovered the deep culinary heritage of her birth city of Tokyo and her own passion for exploring it. These days you’ll find her elbowed up to her favorite sushi bar, slurping down a bowl of noodles or leading culinary walks in the backstreets of Tokyo.

Keilene, Tokyo Walk Leader
Made in Japan but assembled around the globe, having to constantly relocate for her father’s tourism business, Keilene’s mother combined and improvised with the available ingredients for Japanese recipes. These were the fusion dishes that were on the table growing up bicultural and of Japanese descent and created a bond to her home country, Japan. After her studies at Parson’s, Keilene decided to leave the US to pursue a career in fashion in Tokyo. She soon rediscovered the deep culinary heritage of her birth city of Tokyo and her own passion for exploring it. These days you’ll find her elbowed up to her favorite sushi bar, slurping down a bowl of noodles or leading culinary walks in the backstreets of Tokyo.

Keilene, Tokyo Walk Leader
Born in the gorgeous wine region of Hawkes Bay New Zealand Mairi has spent most of her adult life living in Tokyo. Originally moving to Tokyo to study a degree in Japanese language and history she only planned to stay a few years. 25 years and two degrees later she is still constantly fascinated by this amazingly vibrant city. She has worked for many years in live theater and event planning and production and is a keen traveler having visited nearly 50 countries. Having a deep interest in food and especially the relationship between the Japanese diet and their extremely long life span, she has recently completed an online nutrition course from Cornell University.

Keilene, Tokyo Walk Leader
Born in the United States to Japanese parents who immigrated to the US in the 70’s, Miki has been around gourmet food his whole life, as his father was a French and Japanese gourmet chef. After graduating from university in Minnesota, he moved to Japan to teach high school English in Yamanashi and Okinawa for five years. Currently, Miki is studying toward a master’s degree in Global Studies in Tokyo; however, prior to coming back to Japan, he lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand as a Buddhist monk for one year. Because of his father’s influence, Miki has a love for all kinds of cuisine, but Japanese food holds a special place in his heart (or belly).