I’ve been meaning to write about the Higashikawa Photo Festival for literally two years. It’s an annual photography festival held in the town of Higashikawa, which is just outside of Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. I’ve gone to Higashikawa the last three years, and it’s been an excellent experience.

Higashikawa gives out five photographic awards every year, and holds an exhibition with their work. Lots of photographers come from all over Japan, though there are usually many college students from Sapporo and Osaka. Everyone brings their portfolio, shows their work and hangs out. For almost no money at all, anybody can put up their photos on a display outside of the main gallery, called the “Street Gallery.”

The festival is on a weekend which coincides with Higashikawa’s summer festival (matsuri), so there’s lots of people walking around, and plenty of street vendors selling food and drinks. Each day there’s a kind of reception party with amazing (and free) food.

This year I met some students of Jun Abe, which was exciting. Here’s a shot of one of his students’ Street Gallery exhibition:

There’s a lot to say about Higashikawa, but to keep things brief, it’s a great place to chat with other photographers, get a feel for what kind of work college students are making, and feel excited about photography in general. I’ve posted a lot more photos on Picasa; feel free to check them out.