These days when a city prides itself on its design acumen, it celebrates with a week each year so that local design, architecture, interiors and products become the focal point for the national population and overseas travellers. Showroom doors are flung open and parties abound – think London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tokyo, Melbourne and Miami, to name but a few, as the list of cities grows exponentially each year.
Generally, major cities are the venue of choice but in Hokkaido, an island situated in the very north of Japan, a small town called Asahikawa has established its own design week to celebrate the love of the artisan, furniture making and manufacture that is the envy of the country.
Asahikawa is a small city with a population of just over 300,000 people…
