Wender·Vista
Asahikawa
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileJapan
in central Hokkaido, north of Sapporo

Asahikawa

— — the city the cold built around itself.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The second-largest city in Hokkaido, set in the Kamikawa basin where the Ishikari and Chubetsu rivers meet. Winters here are the coldest in mainland Japan, and the city is shaped by them — covered arcades on Heiwa-dori, a sculpture path of ice in February, and ramen shops that pour shoyu broth thick enough to hold its heat to the bottom of the bowl. The Daisetsuzan range stands east of town, white most of the year. People walk slowly, in good coats. from the studio

from the studio
Asahikawa
— bring it home

Asahikawa, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Asahikawa

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Asahikawa is the largest city in the Kamikawa Subprefecture of Hokkaido and the second most populous city on the island, with roughly 320,000 residents on a wide inland basin where the Ishikari, Chubetsu, and Ushubetsu rivers meet. The city sits about 137 kilometres northeast of Sapporo, reached by the Hakodate Main Line and the Doo Expressway. It is the gateway to Daisetsuzan National Park, the largest national park in Japan, whose volcanic plateau rises east of the city to Asahidake at 2,291 metres.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the season

Winter defines the city. The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded minus 41.0 degrees Celsius here in January 1902, the coldest temperature ever measured in Japan. Snow stays on the ground from late November through March, and the Asahikawa Winter Festival in early February draws ice sculptors from across Hokkaido to the riverbank. Summer is short and clear, with lavender fields blooming in nearby Furano in July. The city's pedestrian arcade on Heiwa-dori was the first of its kind in Japan, opened in 1972 specifically against the snow.

— the visit

Asahiyama Zoo, opened in 1967 on a hill east of downtown, is the most visited attraction in the city and known for behavioural enclosures designed around how the animals move rather than how they look. The local ramen tradition runs to a strong shoyu broth with a thin layer of lard on top to hold the heat against the cold, served in shops clustered around the Ramen Village in Nagayama. The Asahidake ropeway, an hour east of town, lifts walkers from 1,100 to 1,600 metres in fifteen minutes.

— where
Japan · Asahikawa, Hokkaido
— elevation
111 m · 364 ft
— position
43.7706° N · 142.3650° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
30 km E
Daisetsuzan National Park
national park
60 km S
Furano
lavender town
137 km SW
Sapporo
city
N
Asahikawa
Daisetsuzan National Park
Furano
Sapporo
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Asahikawa — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The official record low is minus 41 degrees Celsius, set on January 25, 1902, and still the coldest temperature ever recorded in Japan. Most January days run between minus 8 and minus 15 degrees.

A snow and ice festival held each February along the Ishikari River, founded in 1960. It features one of the largest snow sculptures in Japan and an international ice-sculpture competition that draws carvers from across Hokkaido.

Asahikawa ramen uses a strong shoyu broth, often blending pork and seafood stock, with a thin film of lard on the surface to hold the heat in the cold. The style is grouped with Sapporo and Hakodate as one of Hokkaido's three ramen traditions.

Yes. The city sits at the western edge of Daisetsuzan, the largest national park in Japan at 2,267 square kilometres. The Asahidake ropeway, about an hour east of the city, is the main access to the high plateau.

The JR Lilac and Kamui limited expresses run from Sapporo Station to Asahikawa in about 90 minutes. By road, the Doo Expressway covers the 137 kilometres in roughly two hours.

Behavioural enclosures opened from 1997 onward that let visitors watch animals move the way they do in the wild — penguins overhead in a glass tube, polar bears diving past a viewing dome. It is the most visited zoo in northern Japan.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Asahikawa is one of the most-loved cities on the island, anchored by Daisetsuzan and the winter festival. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well for a former resident or a return visitor.

The cool whites and ink-dark mountain forms read well in Japandi rooms, minimalist Asian interiors, and mountain-modern cabins. The piece sits quietly against pale oak, washi paper, and unpainted plaster.

Yes. Japandi pairs Japanese restraint with Scandinavian warmth, and an Asahikawa piece reads as both — a quiet winter palette in a hand-finished ceramic surface. The Small and Medium are the most-requested sizes in this style.

A single Large anchors most sofas. For a longer wall, a four-tile Mural opens the basin across the field of view; a nine-tile Mural carries a full living-room wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation in humid rooms. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall art.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. No abrasive pads, no harsh cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, beneath a thin glossy finish, and does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio. There is no licensing, no reseller, no second source. The eye is Reid Wender's and the work is hand-finished in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.