Higashikawa-cho is small. About 8,000 people, central Hokkaido, at the foot of Mt. Asahi. You can walk most of it in a morning if you're patient and the weather is generous. Here's how we'd spend a day there if we were visiting — biased, of course, by the fact that we work here.

How to get to Higashikawa

By car, Higashikawa is about 10 minutes from Asahikawa Airport and 25 minutes from central Asahikawa. There's a bus from the airport but the timetable rewards advance planning. If you're driving onwards toward Daisetsuzan National Park or Asahidake Onsen, the town sits naturally on the way and a couple of hours here works well as a stop.

The town's Japanese name — Higashikawa-cho (hi-ga-shi-ka-wa-cho, 東川町) — translates to "East River Town." There isn't actually a river running through the centre; the water all comes from underground springs fed by snowmelt off Mt. Asahi.

The "Town of Photography"

Higashikawa branded itself the Town of Photography (写真の町, sha-shin-no-ma-chi) decades ago and has hosted the Higashikawa International Photo Festival every year since 1985. The town hall takes images seriously, the buildings are quietly considered, and there's a small but excellent gallery scene. If you've come for the photography, the festival usually runs in late July / early August. Outside festival weeks, just walk around with your eyes open — the late-summer light is famous among working photographers.

Coffee, in the order you might walk past it

There are a handful of cafés in the centre of town. You can do them all in a day if you pace yourself.

• Roaster Coaster — that's us. Central Higashikawa, opened October 2013, the town's first jikabaisen (in-house roasting) café. Five French press blends named after the mountains. We're also the home of TAISETSU COFFEE, which ships across all 47 prefectures, and Craft Bear, our craft beer brand.
• Yoshinori Coffee — pour-over focused, careful brewing, a different style to ours. Worth the visit if you're already on the coffee trail.
• Wednesday Cafe & Bake — the canelés are the pull. Closed Thursdays.
• Cafe & Little Nap Stay — café with rooms above. Cosy.

Don't try to do all of those in one day unless you're caffeinated up for it. Two or three is plenty.

Craft beer

Higashikawa has its own craft-beer brand: Craft Bear. Three beers — flagship Higashikawa Ale (a session IPA brewed with snowmelt water from Mt. Asahi), Northern Breeze (a hefeweizen), and the gold-medal-winning Black Rock Island (a doppelbock).

Where to drink them: Roaster Coaster (us — bottles always, taps on for events) and the Higashikawa Michi-no-Eki (the roadside station — bottles to take away) stock all three. Higashikawa Ale, the flagship, is also carried by a handful of bars, izakayas, and hotels around town.

Beyond the centre

Daisetsuzan National Park is right up the road — Asahidake (旭岳, the highest peak in Hokkaido, 2,291 m) is about 50 minutes by car from town. There's a ropeway up to a high plateau for hiking, and onsen at the top. Even if you're only here for a day, an afternoon up there is feasible.

Asahidake Gensui — the natural spring that feeds the area's water — has a small park where you can fill bottles. The water is one of Japan's hundred officially designated meisui (名水, "outstanding waters"). It's the same water Craft Bear uses to brew Higashikawa Ale.

How to do a half-day

If you've only got four or five hours: arrive in town, walk the central streets, drop into Roaster Coaster for a French press and a panini, pick up some Photo Drip Packs and a Craft Bear bottle to take with you, walk to the photography gallery if anything's on, then drive up toward Asahidake for the afternoon. That's a good Higashikawa day.

If you've got longer, slow it down. The town rewards walking around with no schedule.

東川にお越しの方へ、ささやかな散歩のおすすめを。お店のまわりで寄りたいカフェ、Craft Bearが飲める場所、歩いてゆくとちょうどいい場所。観光ガイドというよりは、近所の人が「このへんはこんな感じです」と話しているような、そんな小さなノートです。

お店のあたり、まずは中心部を

ロースターコースターは町のほぼまんなか、徒歩で町なかをぐるっと回れる距離にあります。一日で全部のカフェを巡る、というのはあまりおすすめしません。コーヒーは2、3軒で十分すぎるくらい。むしろ「合間に何をするか」の余白を残しておくほうが、東川は楽しいと思います。

近所のカフェ：

• Yoshinori Coffee ── ハンドドリップに強いお店。スタイルが私たちとは違うので、コーヒーの飲みくらべには面白いです。
• Wednesday Cafe & Bake ── お米のカヌレ。木曜定休にご注意。
• Cafe & Little Nap Stay ── カフェ＋宿の組み合わせ。ゆっくり泊まりたい人に。

Craft Bearを飲める場所

東川のクラフトビール、Craft Bear。3種類すべてを揃えているのは ロースターコースター（私たち）と 東川道の駅 の2か所だけです。樽生は、お店ではイベント時にちょこちょこ。普段はボトルでご用意しています。フラッグシップの「東川エール」は、町内のバーや居酒屋、ホテルでも何軒かでお飲みいただけます。

町の外へ少し足をのばすなら

旭岳までは車で50分ほど。ロープウェイに乗れば姿見の池まで一気で、夏は高山植物、秋は紅葉、冬は雪原。半日の余裕があれば、午後から行ってもじゅうぶん間に合います。下山後の温泉も合わせて。

水好きの方には 大雪旭岳源水。湧水を汲める小さな公園があって、Craft Bearの「東川エール」に使われている水とまったく同じものです（ふだんは水質を保つために汲む量に上限があります）。

半日のすすめ

もし4〜5時間しかなければ：中心部をのんびり歩いて、ロースターコースターでフレンチプレスを一杯、パニーニを一枚。お土産にフォトドリップパックとCraft Bearのボトルを少々。ギャラリーで何かやっていれば寄って、午後は旭岳方面へ。── これで、ちょうどいい東川の一日になります。

もうすこし時間がある方は、予定を組まずに、ただ歩いていてください。光がきれいで、足ばやに過ぎていかない町です。