For his role as Hiroki Kikuchi in the 2012 Japanese teen movie The Kirishima Thing, Higashide won a Mainichi Film Award; a Japan Academy Prize; a Kinema Junpo honor; and an Elan d'Or Award. He went on to appear in several other films and television series, including It All Began When I Met You and Gochisosan. His early television credits include roles in Renai Kentei and Wonderful Single Life.