Kana holds a BA in English from Doshisha University, Kyoto, and another BA in Japanese Classical and Traditional Arts from Kyoto University of Arts and Design. She is also qualified as a tea master from Urasenke school of tea ceremony and is an experienced government-licensed guide. Kana has been studying and working in Kyoto since 2000. During her leisure time, she loves playing the shamisen, and she also performs Kyogen (Japanese 650-year-old UNESCO heritage theater). The Zen Buddhist philosophy, “live in the moment”, has been always the core tenet of her life.

Elizabeth has lived in Kyoto for more than thirty-five years. She is a professor of Japanese religions and Buddhism. In particular, she has studied Japanese graveyards, the Fushimi Inari fox shrine, and Buddhist doctrine. She loves yoga, cats, walking, and visiting Europe. Elizabeth is from San Rafael, California. Before life took her to Japan, she spent two years in Beijing (as a graduate student at Beijing University), a year in Taiwan (studying Chinese), and a year in Dharamsala, India (studying Buddhism). She has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University and a B.A. in Anthropology from Princeton University.

Preston Keido Houser came to Kyoto in 1981 to pursue his interests in Zen Buddhism and traditional Japanese music, specifically the zen repertoire for the shakuhachi bamboo flute as played by the "komuso" monks of the the Fuke-shu sect. He earned his "shihan," master’s license, took the name Keido, and performs frequently in Japan and America (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1XguDd43gc). An award-winning writer (and frequent contributor to Writers in Kyoto (http://www.writersinkyoto.com/)), Preston has authored books on Japanese gardens, including "Invitation to Tea Gardens: Kyoto's Culture Enclosed"; "The Courtyard Gardens of Kyoto"; as well as the text for the acclaimed CD-ROM "Kyoto Gardens: A Visual Stroll Through Zen Landscapes" (https://kyotogardens.org/). In addition to Asia studies, Preston holds a Ph.D. in English literature (Shakespeare Studies) from the University of Pennsylvania. As a recently retired professor from Otani University in Kyoto, Dr. Houser currently lives in nearby Kameoka and divides his time playing music, cycling, hiking, as well as rereading Shakespeare and Buddhist texts. Recently Preston Keido provided the English translation for the Android Kannon Mindar at Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto He also spoke on "Bob Dylan and the I-Ching" at the World of Bob Dylan Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 2019. An accomplished poet, Preston Keido has several volumes of poetry available in Kindle ebook and paperback formats via Amazon.com.