Eight ways to use a helicopter in Japan

A helicopter in Japan is not only a sightseeing ride. The same aircraft that circles Tokyo Skytree in fifteen minutes also lands at the foot of Mt. Fuji in half an hour, carries a party of five between a hotel lobby and a meeting, or waits on the pad while a proposal happens. Below are the eight ways our guests actually use them, each linked to the flights that make it happen. Every flight lists a private-charter price and a per-seat price; the last tile explains the difference.

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  🚁A helicopter as transport

  Tokyo Heliport to Oshino at the foot of Mt. Fuji takes 30 to 35 minutes in the air, against roughly two and a half hours on the expressway. A car and driver can wait beside the pad, so the day starts at the mountain instead of on the road. Fly one way and drive back, or fly both ways.

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  🏙️Tokyo by day

  Ten minutes over the bay for a first taste, fifteen minutes up the Sumida river to Tokyo Skytree, or thirty minutes across Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa and both towers. Three-seat cabins from Tokyo Heliport in Shin-Kiba, and the cabin is yours alone.

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• 

  🌃Tokyo and Yokohama after dark

  From 18 to 40 minutes once the city lights come on: Skytree and Tokyo Tower changing colour, the expressways turning into streaks, Minato Mirai glowing over the harbour. These are the flights most often chosen for proposals and anniversaries.

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• 

  🗻Around Mt. Fuji and Hakone

  75, 90 or 120 minutes from Tokyo Heliport: the Hakone caldera and Lake Ashi, the Kamakura coast, and on the long circuit the Five Lakes and the whole mountain from every side. Whether Fuji shows is decided by the weather that morning, and we say so before you book.

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  💼Business trips and VIP guests

  A five-seat Airbus AS350 with panoramic windows, an Alphard waiting at your hotel lobby, and 42 minutes at the heliport in all: the briefing, thirty minutes in the air, a photo by the aircraft. You choose the departure time, and dates are often open at short notice.

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  📷Photography and filming from the air

  Every cabin has large windows and the routes are flown slowly enough for photographs. A photographer who works with you before and after the flight, and a film crew for the day, can be arranged when you book. Tell us early about a specific shot list, because not everything is possible on every route.

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• 

  🎉Events and special occasions

  A bouquet of 108 roses handed over at the pad, a seasonal bouquet, a photographer, a short film of the day. Each is a tick-box when you book a flight, and the roses need three days' notice.

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  👥Private or shared: two ways to buy

  Private charter reserves the whole aircraft for your group: the seat price times the number of seats, with 10% off. A shared seat is paid per person, on a flight with other passengers. Both prices appear on every flight, so you compare before you choose.

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From your screen to the cabin door in four steps

1. 

   Step 1

   Pick a flight

   Four tabs: Tokyo by day, by night, Mt. Fuji, Osaka and Kyoto. Every card shows the minutes, the seats and both ways to buy: the whole aircraft (PRIVATE) or one seat (SHARED). Not sure which flight fits? The chat button in the corner reaches a person.

2. 📅

   Step 2

   Choose a date, pay, get the email

   The calendar on each flight page only opens the days the operator still has room. Pick the date, the time slot and the number of guests, then pay online by card or bank transfer. A booking counts as made only once the payment has landed; the confirmation email with your booking code follows right away.

3. 

   Step 3

   Arrive at the heliport on time

   The heliport and the meeting time are in your email; the Pickup tab on the flight page has the map. Bring your ID: the pilot needs each passenger's name exactly as printed, nationality and weight for the load sheet. Being late costs the whole flight, not ten minutes, which is why many guests add the door-to-heliport car.

4. 

   Step 4

   Fly

   A few minutes of safety briefing, seatbelt on, headset on, then lift-off. The windows are large and every seat is a window seat. If you want a bouquet waiting at the heliport, a surprise-decorated car or a photographer, tick them under Extras when you book, the earlier the better.