During her two month adventure throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, I had the privilege to spend time with Yukako Atsuchi. Photographer, artist, and traveler Yukako is originally from Miyazaki, the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Miyazaki is approximately a two hour flight from Tokyo. Yukako calls Miyazaki “the countryside” of Japan, however she’s no stranger to exploring other cultures and countries. She allows wander to lead her spirit throughout her journey and her photography captures the essence of her curiosity. 

Attending college in Los Angeles, and then moving to Tokyo, Yukako embodies the core element of what “getting lost to find yourself” truly means. She’s not afraid to abandoned the mundane in order to find new dimensions of fulfillment. Ironically enough, Yukako, and I briefly met almost four years in Portland as we were both traveling and staying in the same hostel. 

During her time in Bangkok, Yukako asked if she could capture some shots of me in my home, and immediately said “yes” under one condition, if she allowed me to record our conversation during the shoot. She agreed and this episode is a result of that creative exchange. 

Yukako opens up about her Japanese heritage, perception, the significance of film photography in her life, human emotions that creates conflict in her work, pushing herself to discover new layers of who she wants to become, and how satisfying others forced her to rethink the direction she was headed towards. 

The conversation gets heavy, we share thoughts around loneliness, being able to identify when negative thoughts are near, and being able to redirection your energy.

There’s a lot of great dialogue in this episode but one of my favorite quotes from the conversation is when Yukako says “fear only comes from when you care about what people think.”

Follow Yukako via her website or on Instagram.