Yuya Matsuo is a 26-year-old from Japan. He lived in Tokyo until the age of 18, and then moved to the United States. He graduated in geology at the University of California in Los Angeles in 2012. Although he is just an amateur photographer, his photos taken in Split and Zagreb have met with excellent reviews on the internet. On Thursday, Yuya presented his works at the opening of a club exhibition at the Split Photo Club, reports Dalmacija News on October 23, 2015.
His mother is a business woman who often travels to Europe, and that was the reason why he wanted to get to know this part of the world. He moved to Budapest, where he lived for a year and a half, and this fall he has decided to come to Split.
“I love to travel. In that way, I learn a lot and broaden my horizons. I have spent the last two months in Croatia. First I was in Zagreb, and now I am in Split. I will soon visit Dubrovnik and probably Montenegro, and I wish to go to Malta and Spain. I am definitely more interested in warmer parts of Europe. This is my second visit to Split this year and that only proves that I really like it here. It is incredible how much the city is different compared to winter. I especially like the mentality of the people in Split. They are very friendly, and that is something quite rare in other parts of Europe. They are often curious, but in a good way. Everything is more expensive in Japan, so the prices here are reasonable for me”, Yuya said.
“Split is very ‘photogenic’ and it is a real pleasure to make photos of such unique combination of beautiful nature, history and architecture. What can I say about people in Croatia in general, it is obvious they truly love their country. While I’m shooting in Croatia, I can see that people are happy about it. Maybe this is just my personal impression, but elsewhere in Europe people are not excited when I try to photograph their country”, Yuya added.
“I could imagine living in Croatia, because I really love this country. I also love the Dalmatian food which is prepared similarly to Japanese – not too salty and not too spicy. For example, food in Hungary is extremely salty. Although I am from Japan, fish is not my favorite food. I tried the fish in Split and it was delicious, but I was delighted with ‘pašticada’. I have never eaten something like that anywhere else”, Yuya said.
“It is interesting to me that in Croatia each wind has its own name. Maybe you did not know this, but the first scientific research of ‘bura’ on the Adriatic was done by Japanese scientists several decades ago. My wish is to visit the areas around Split. Solin and Klis have some interesting features, and I will maybe even climb the Mosor mountain. Most people in Japan know that Croatia is somewhere in Europe, but nothing else. Those who follow football know a little bit more about Croatia. And recently, some Japanese know about Croatia by watching the Game of Thrones. This morning, I saw a large group of Japanese tourists in Split. It is probable that the number of Japanese guests will rise in the years to come”, Yuya concluded.
