Hirakawa was born in Shizuoka on 1 May 1979. After graduating from University of Tsukuba, he joined J1 League club Urawa Reds in 2002. Although he is originally a right side player, he became a regular in the line-up as a left side midfielder from July. The Urawa Reds won the 2003 J.League Cup for the first time in the club history.
In 2004, the Urawa Reds signed Alessandro Santos and Hirakawa lost his place in the team. So, Hirakawa played many positions, including three positions in defence, and as a right side midfielder in the 2004 season.[citation needed] However, his opportunity to play decreased following the summer of 2004.
In 2006, he became a regular in the line-up as a right side midfielder and the Urawa Reds won the J1 League for the first time in the club's history. In 2007, he failed to displace Nobuhisa Yamada, so he became a left side midfielder again, leading to the Urawa Reds winning the 2007 AFC Champions League.
In 2008, he played many matches as a right and left side midfielder. Although he could not play many matches in 2009 because of injury, he played regularly as a right and left side back in 2010. From 2012, he played many matches as a right side midfielder.[citation needed]
He then lost his place to young player Takahiro Sekine from 2015. He retired at the end of the 2018 season.[2]
Manager career
Hirakawa took over manager duties for FC Ryukyu, who play in the J3 Legue competition, from the 2025 season.
