HELICOPTER transfers are now available for Hilton Niseko Village guests for ¥189,000 per person for the one-way flight from Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport.
Patrons can be picked up at the airport and driven to a nearby helipad where they take off in an Aero Asahi chopper, then land in a field near the Hilton about 30 minutes later.
It is said well-healed passengers can be sitting in the Niseko Village gondola an hour after landing at Chitose.
Hilton Niseko Village general manager Daniel Welk said the new service was for extremely high-end clients who believed money just wasn’t an option.
“There are some who will pay anything for a high-quality ski experience,” he said.
“A two-hour commute is fine for most people, but some aren’t interested and just don’t want to wait.”
There’s even some talk of a Hong Kong to Hilton Niseko Village door-to-door, Welk said.
“Within six hours you can leave hot and humid Hong Kong and be in sub-zero, powdery conditions riding Niseko Village’s natural half-pipe,” he said.