On my last night, we went to a mountain lodge with an attached onsen, cooked local fish soup over open pits and all went into the onsen together and laughed a lot. It was an incredible evening. There was a very beautiful view over the whole valley all the way to Tokushima. I often wish I could easily escape to this lodge.
Birgit Rathsman

Once, I nearly fell off the side of a sheer drop in a 6 seater van that KAIR gave me to drive around with. I had made a turning into a narrow path to get a better picture of a house that had been built in the style of de Stijl architecture and stuck right in the centre of the mountains, surrounded by other more traditional domestic homes. On the drive back up the other way, the path climaxed to a slope around 40% or 50%. It was not a really a path for driving, it was really only a footpath, but it had begun as a road, or so I thought. The van stopped moving forward because the slope was so sheer, I put the brakes on full only to find that it didn't help much and I was beginning to roll backwards. My view through the window saw only a clear blue sky although there was a mountain directly in front of me. The path was so narrow that I couldn't reverse safely. With sweat running down my face I slammed the breaks on as hard as I could, all of them, the foot and the hand break and managed to bring it to a precarious stop. I grabbed my phone and slipped out the door onto safe ground. But the van looked unsafe and below the path were houses. I really worried it would slip back at any moment. I had really only just arrived there and didn't know many people, but I had started to get to know Chan and had his phone number. I called him up and he laughed my tears away as I gave my account. He reassured me someone would be there soon and soon after that, Nakahara-san came along to pull me out. I think he thought it would be a simple matter of tying a rope around the front of the van and the back of his as a way of making me feel alright to get in and put the accelerator on. I got in, turned on the engine and gently levered off the hand break, still with my foot on the pedal break, the whole thing lurched back and Nakahara's van with it. I sweatily managed to get the hand break on again as Nakahara-san blanched, clearly realising the situation was a bit more serious than he first assumed. He got into his van and put the engine on pulling the van and myself clear of the slope.
Charlotte Brisland

I have a very nice memory from my studio space at Mr. Nakahara’s secondary school. Every morning entering my studio space there was a small vase with fresh flowers as a welcome.
The common meals with the people from Kamiyama with beautifully prepared food, especially the evening we met with the people up in the mountain and the meeting at the local theater group with the lovely parsley/sweet potato cake they offered us. The best I ever tasted! The cake disappeared pretty fast.
The collection of bonsai trees I saw when we visited a local artist in the mountain was a very happy moment. They were all very beautifully made compositions and I am still angry with myself I did not bring my camera.
Tea ceremony with the tea master in her home and how she participated in my art project, every time beautifully dressed in her kimonos.
The relationship between the artists in the residency the year 2001 was for me a beautiful experience, with wonderful evenings with music from Keiju, silence around in the woods, the four of us gathering together for our common evening meals outside, and when it got colder usually inside in Naoko’s cottage.
The workshop with the children was another happy memory.
Hilde Aagaard

Peaceful morning with cicadas calling, walking to Amogoi falls, cooking dinner with friends, then the craziness of Karaoke! There are too many wonderful, happy memories to name just one.
Vaughn Bell

Every memory was special. I especially enjoyed visiting the homes of the committee members and the other artists. The dinner parties were great. The gatherings contributed tremendously to the overall positive atmosphere and to developing rapport and friendship. Another memorable moment was a group road trip to Naoshima Island and everyone on the trip shared a hot tub which was part of an artwork by Cai Guo-Qiang at the Naoshima Museum.
Jason Yi

I was painting trees out doors, and a gentleman who did not speak English passed by and gave me some persimmons. That was wonderful.
Liz Roth

In the second week of my residency I came down with a dreadful cold, unlike any other I have experienced, which reduced me to resting in bed. Concerned for my welfare, Mr Nakahara knocked on my door, invited me out for a meal at a local restaurant, and insisted that there was no need for me to change out of my pyjamas (though out of modesty, I did).
Robin Dance

The hot baths/springs are always funny because as a newcomer you don’t know the rules and because you can’t speak you cannot ask what to do. So it took several times before I knew to put the white little washing cloth on my head. Yes, the first time I didn’t have a cloth to cover myself, and because I was new and different-looking it was all very funny.
Strijdom van der Merwe