Discover Asahikawa furniture at stations, hotels and around town

Do you know Asahikawa furniture? It has a history of over 100 years and is world-famous for its high-quality wood, mainly from Hokkaido, and its high design quality. I learned about Asahikawa furniture at Hoshino Resorts OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts. It is the first urban tourist hotel in Japan to have Asahikawa furniture, with about 20 types and 40 chairs in the lobby.

Seeing the hotel's chairs reminded me of JR Asahikawa Station. There are many chairs of various colors and shapes lined up inside the station, and anyone can use them. The escalators and stairs leading to the platform have a unique design that makes extensive use of wood.

I later found out that this is an initiative of the Asahikawa Furniture Industry Cooperative Association, called the "Asahikawa Furniture Lounge." The stylish interior design, using ash wood from Hokkaido, was designed by architect Hiroshi Naito. I learned that there was an "Asahikawa Design Center" where you can experience "Asahikawa, the city of furniture," so I set off on a road trip the day after my stay at the hotel.

The Asahikawa Design Center is located about a 15-minute drive from Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa City. The Asahikawa Furniture Center, which opened in 1980, underwent extensive renovations in 2017 and was renamed the "Asahikawa Design Center." This is a shop where about 30 furniture and craft manufacturers from the Asahikawa region of Hokkaido (Asahikawa City, Higashikawa Town, and Higashikagura Town) have permanent booths. The adjacent restaurants and select shops selling miscellaneous goods are also stylish.

A high-quality space like a furniture museum

The furniture is lined up in a space of 3300m2, just like a museum. The entrance has an atrium that stretches up to the second floor, and the exhibition starts on the first floor, followed by permanent booths for each furniture brand (Conde House, Takumi Kogei, Daisetsu Mokko, Cosine, Interior Kita Takumi Kobo, Higashi 10go Kobo, Gauzy Calm Works, and about 30 other companies).

Last summer's special exhibition was titled "Summer Hygge - A peaceful summer spent at home."
Yoshimasa Sugimoto, executive director of the Asahikawa Furniture Industry Cooperative Association, which operates the facility, said,"Hygge is a Danish word that means 'warm, comfortable time or space.' Rather than viewing the COVID-19 pandemic and spending time at home as something to endure in a negative way, we used the theme of 'hygge' at Asahikawa Furniture and other stores to propose a lifestyle in which 'home is a place that is rich in spirit.'"

The special exhibition starting on April 7, 2021, is titled "Design Stories from IFDA: Stories of Living Created with Designers," and will introduce Asahikawa Furniture's efforts over the past 30 years. In particular, the "International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa (IFDA)"The archive footage of this global wooden furniture design competition, which began in 1990, and the past winning entries are well worth a look.

Reasons for raising the next generation in furniture-producing areas

At the Asahikawa Design Center, I learned about the background to why Asahikawa became a "furniture town."

Asahikawa City, Hokkaido's second largest city, began as Asahikawa Village, which was established in 1890. Surrounded by the majestic Daisetsu Mountains, including Mount Asahi, the area is blessed with water and lumber resources. There were sawmills, and Hokkaido oak was known as "Japanese oak," boasting the world's highest quality. A fine wood market was held, and lumber was exported overseas from Otaru Port. Asahikawa was a distribution center for high-quality lumber.

The city's location in the center of Hokkaido also led to the development of the furniture industry. During the war, the 7th Army Division was stationed here, and as the railway and towns were developed, the population grew, and the demand for buildings and housing increased, leading to the establishment of furniture manufacturing businesses one after another. The city's main industry, rice farming, was unstable due to poor harvests caused by cold weather, so there were hopes for furniture as a year-round industry.

During the period of rapid economic growth after the war, sales of so-called "box furniture" such as wedding furniture increased. However, lifestyle changes, the collapse of the bubble economy, and the tragedies of furniture collapsing in homes due to major earthquakes all contributed to a change in people's perception of furniture. Built-in storage furniture by home builders became widespread. Then came the rise of cheap furniture with a disposable feel. Recently, subscription rental services that rent furniture for a fixed fee have been attracting attention.

As change is called for, Asahikawa Furniture is teaming up with designers both in Japan and abroad to create unique products, including "legged furniture," such as chairs, that are easy to use, beautiful, and long-lasting, with an emphasis on design.

Sugimoto says, "I think the fact that we provided educational support for young craftsmen from an early stage is what strengthened the Asahikawa furniture brand."

In 1963, an overseas training program was implemented with support from the city, and young people at the time, including the late Minoru Nagahara of Conde House, which today represents Asahikawa furniture, learned about manufacturing overseas, which is said to have led to the evolution of Asahikawa furniture.

Since then, universities and vocational schools for studying furniture and design have been established, the International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa (IFDA) has been held (since 1990), and the Asahikawa Furniture Makers Charter has been established (2007). The city has been committed to using domestic timber and has been involved in forest conservation and tree planting activities for many years. (Reference: Yasuo Kawashima, editor, "A Chair Craftsman Once in a Century," Shinhyoron Publishing)

Experience "chair-handling" at a hotel that connects travelers and locals

In the fall of 2020, OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts held an art event that focused on Asahikawa furniture chairs. The event included a "Neighborhood Asahikawa Furniture Tour," where participants could try out different chairs in the lobby lounge "OMO Base (Travelers' Fun Lounge)," listen to explanations by furniture craftsmen, and visit restaurants in the city that use Asahikawa furniture with (Local guide) OMO Rangers.

Hotel Staff/staff member member Takayuki Okubo is one of those who is fascinated by Asahikawa furniture.

"For example, this chair, whose name 'yamanami' suggests, has a beautiful form that evokes the image of mountain ridges. Takumi Kogei, the manufacturer, has a factory in the middle of nature overlooking the Daisetsu mountain range, and the people working there were wonderful. At an art event held at our museum, I was able to join Guest/customer and hear the furniture craftsmen's overflowing passion for creating their products, which was very moving. After the event, some of Guest/customer who attended purchased Asahikawa furniture, which was unexpected, but it is a fond memory of last year, which was often difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he says.

OMO7 Asahikawa by Hoshino Resorts is also planning to hold an Asahikawa furniture event in the fall of 2021. Before that, Asahikawa Design Week will be held every June, centered around the Asahikawa Design Center. In addition to new product announcements and business negotiations by various companies, factory tours and workshops that are fun for tourists are also planned.

This reminds me of the words of Mr. Sugimoto, who makes a living from furniture.
"What does furniture mean to me? Furniture is one of those familiar tools. It's always there, it soothes the soul, it's a partner in life. If you take care of it and treat it with care, it's a reliable item that can be passed down to your children."

The longer you spend with something, the more you love it. Furniture makes your time at home more comfortable. There's no greater joy in traveling than meeting it in the place where it's made, experiencing it in local hotels and shops, and making lifelong friends while browsing. Come visit Asahikawa, the city of furniture!

Asahikawa Design Center

• 1-35 Nagayama 2-jo 10-chome, Asahikawa, Hokkaido MAP
• Approximately 15 minutes by car from JR Asahikawa Station
• Take the bus from Feel Asahikawa in front of JR Asahikawa Station, get off at Nagayama 2-jo 10-chome bus stop, and walk for a short distance
• 9:00-17:00
• Open everyday (closed during the year-end, New Year's and Obon holidays)
• 0166-48-4135
• free