Hijikata, ranked 79th in the world, took the first set over the American seventh seed on Wednesday and prevailed in a third-set tiebreak, winning 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
Next up for the 23-year-old is a meeting with top-seeded American Tommy Paul in the final eight.
Paul, the world No.12, shook of France's Manuel Guinard 6-4 3-6 6-3 on Wednesday to book his quarter-finals berth.
Game. Set. Match. Tommy Paul. 🫡— Adelaide International (@AdelaideTennis) Some power hitting from both sides today sees our Number 1 seed book his spot in the quarterfinals �#AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/45EAA3juYNJanuary 8, 2025
Hijikata lost in the final round of qualifying for the Adelaide event but gained main-draw entry due to an injury withdrawal.
Fellow Australians Chris O'Connell and Li Tu suffered contrasting fortunes to Hijikata, bowing out with defeats in the round of 16.
O'Connell was beaten 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 by Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, while Tu was handed a 6-3 6-3 loss by French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi.
Kecmanovic will meet Bonzi in the quarter-finals.
Second-seeded American Sebastian Korda also reached the quarter-finals when he swept aside Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-3.
Thanasi Kokkinakis is bidding for a spot in the quarter-finals at the Adelaide International. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)
Korda will meet the winner of Wednesday night's clash between Australai's Thanasi Kokkinakis and Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Canada's fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will face American Marcos Giron after coming from a set down to defeat France's Arthur Cazaux, 1-6 6-4 7-5.
Also on Wednesday, Giron beat Denis Shapovalov 7-5 6-2 to advance to the last eight.
