Native to Shizuoka, Masaki Watanabe studied the art of cooking at the Musashino Cooking College in Tokyo and apprenticed in Annecy, France. A world acclaimed chef, Masaki worked for internationally famous hoteliers in Switzerland, France and the US. He now cooks French-inspired cuisine at Chimikepp Hotel and supervises the management a wide range of operations: procurement, transportation logistics, marketing, communications and talent operations. Under his leadership, the Chimikepp Hotel was awarded a Michelin star in 2017.