By EIJI ISEKI/ Staff Writer
January 28, 2025 at 18:19 JST
A helicopter to be used for Izu tours (Provided by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.)
Anyone bent on bypassing the heavy traffic and taking in the famous “Kawazuzakura” (Kawazu cherry blossoms) now has a luxury option—helicopter day trips from Tokyo to the Izu Peninsula.
Priced at 3 million yen ($19,000) for each group of up to eight passengers, the tour is attracting wealthy domestic and international travelers who want to optimize their vacation time.
The cherry blossoms in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, typically reach peak bloom in February.
Getting there from Tokyo takes about three hours by car, and the surrounding roads are often congested, making travel by land time-consuming and unpredictable.
This new tour has passengers board a helicopter at a Koto Ward heliport in Tokyo.
It takes just 35 minutes to reach the designated Shuzenji heliport in the northern part of the Izu Peninsula and 45 minutes to reach the heliport in Shimoda on the peninsula's southern end.
On-site transportation is also provided via a high-grade small bus, with routes designated to minimize land travel and save time.
Departing at 8 a.m., tourists travel to Izu Peninsula where they can view the Kawazu cherry blossoms and participate in activities such as wasabi harvesting and traditional papermaking before returning to Tokyo by evening.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. is behind the experience. The company developed Z-Leg, an online service, which allows customers to book helicopters for travel.
Using Z-Leg, a subsidiary of the company offers helicopter travel plans nationwide.
The subsidiary has previously organized day trips from Nagoya Airport to Eiheiji temple in Fukui Prefecture and plans to launch a helicopter shuttle service to Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture in April.
While the prices are sky high, the service is popular among wealthy tourists who value time.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries plans to expand the number of heliports to attract visitors to tourist destinations that are difficult to reach by land.
It said that the initiative will help strengthen disaster resilience in remote areas where transportation could be disrupted during major disasters.
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