She began working for Konami in 1984 while she was still in high school, at the age of 16. The first soundtrack she composed was for Gradius, while contributing compositions for the Yie Ar Kung-Fu soundtrack at around the same time. She was credited under the name Miki-chan in both games, which were released in early 1985. She has since been involved in over a dozen projects and compilations, including Contra III and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Aside from being the primary composer for the original Suikoden soundtrack, she also worked on the Suikoden II soundtrack, a 105-track effort which she composed in its entirety save 7 songs by Keiko Fukami and 1 song by Tappy Iwase. In 2001, Higashino left Konami on maternity leave but later collaborated with videogame composer Yasunori Mitsuda in 2005 on the Tsukiyo ni Saraba (Moonlit Shadow) soundtrack. Arranged versions of her original Suikoden music appear on the soundtracks for Suikoden III, IV and V.
