General News

Hokkaido Sightseeing Helicopter Tours to Be Offered on Trial Basis from Nov. 26-28; Will Visit Places Including Kushiro Wetland, Hidaka Mountains

Courtesy of Hokkaido Airports Co.
A helicopter that is intended to be used for a trial sightseeing tour

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:50 JST, November 1, 2024

SAPPORO — A committee to study the improvement of air traffic in Hokkaido plans to offer trial sightseeing tours from Nov. 26-28, connecting local airports and nearby tourist spots by helicopter.

The committee — which mainly consists of Hokkaido Airports Co., the Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry and four Hokkaido cities (Kushiro, Obihiro, Sapporo and Chitose) — aims to attract wealthy tourists from Japan and abroad with sightseeing plans that will enable people to enjoy Hokkaido’s natural beauty without having to spend a long time in transit.

The trial tours will be based out of four airports: Kushiro, Obihiro, New Chitose and Sapporo Okadama. On Nov. 26, a helicopter will take participants from Kushiro Airport to the Kushiro Wetland and Lake Mashu and back. The following day’s trip, which begins and ends at Obihiro Airport, will take visitors to the areas including the Hidaka mountains. Nov. 28’s trip will leave New Chitose Airport and stop in several places, including Lake Shikotsu, Lake Toya, Sapporo Okadama Airport and the town of Niseko, before returning.

According to the committee, it takes about three hours to travel from New Chitose Airport to Niseko by car in winter, but the same trip can be covered by helicopter in just 30 minutes. As similar helicopter tours centered on Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture and other airports have been well received, the committee hopes to launch such a service in Hokkaido.

Nine-passenger helicopters will be used for the trial tours, and members of the general public will be able to sign up. The cost will be ¥110,000 per person, including tax.

“The strength [of the tours] is that passengers will be able to take a flight to the airport and then move smoothly over to the helicopter,” a committee member said. “We want to use these trial tours to find issues that we need to deal with.”