Helicopter Tours Expand At Lake Toya

Helicopter tours at Lake Toya, a picturesque volcanic lake about 45 minutes by car away from Niseko, are exploding in popularity.

Although such tours of Lake Toya have been conducted by various companies since 1996, certain barriers to entry previously limited their reach, especially for inbound tourists.

New management

In 2020, Takumi Enterprise took over the tours and implemented changes such as an expansion of ground guides and the ability to accept credit cards and electronic payments.

Takayasu Sato, Takumi Enterprise Spokesperson, said that in 2019, the last year of the former operator, about 1,500 guests used the service but in 2022 the number had exploded to 10,000 – and this was before Japan’s borders were fully reopened.

To accommodate the growing demand, Takumi Enterprise is looking to hire new ground staff to provide customer reception, safety explanation and helicopter embarkment and disembarkment assistance.

Sightseeing and rescues

While scenic helicopter tours (with clear view of Mt. Yotei from the Lake Toya region) are the draw for guests, Takumi Enterprise, a national company with 22 tour locations, provides more to local areas than just sightseeing.

Seven years ago, Takumi Morioka, the company CEO and president, came up with the idea of having “Tourism Disaster Prevention Agreements” with local municipalities.

In rural scenic destinations, like Lake Toya, where hiking and outdoor activities are popular, it is often hard for local governments to maintain air rescue-infrastructure for disaster prevention and mitigation.

Takumi Enterprise, with more than half their pilots former Self-Defense Forces, Japan Coast Guard or Firefighting Air Corps personnel, provides such rescue services in the local areas where it operates, free of charge.

These efforts are covered by revenue from the sightseeing tours and by a streamlined process of permitting and land use from the local governments.

An added benefit is that the helicopter pilots, from flying multiple tours, become very familiar with the local topography, making any rescue operation that much more efficient.

Enterprise has four other tour locations across Hokkaido and now operates two helicopters at Lake Toya.

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