• myoko, karuizawa, shinanomachi, shiojiri, matsumoto (art)
• northern part of nagano: more foreigners (hakuba)
• southern part of nagano: like ina, etc
• looking for local ambassadors (anyone active in the community can be one): not uncommon to have
• @.funkyenough could connect us to people in tatsuno, and potentially fukuoka guy
• francois' partner was from ina

criteria for akiya locations

• local ambassadors
• art community: karuizawa
• renovation community
• open(ish) to foreigners
• not want to be in a tourist famous city / go there for skiing

reach out to interesting cultural / art centers

• https://www.instagram.com/tobichi_art/ (young people doing stuff in the area)
• nagano has 10% of all art museums in japan (higher than tokyo): https://www.go-nagano.net/theme/id=19400
• database:
  • https://www.go-nagano.net/go-search/result/&tag_category_id=82&search_ext_col_25=206
  • https://www.go-nagano.net/go-search/
• Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum: “Landscape Museum” in harmony with nature and historical landscapes
• https://www.karennagano.com/ (Karen’s own site, but does sound like an interesting person)