Tokyo Has More Helipads Than Any Other City - But They're Almost Never Used
- Japan’s capital has 80 buildings where helicopters can land
- Most sit idle, restricted by noise concerns and regulations
Many buildings around the Tokyo Station have rooftop helipads.
Photographer: Kyoshi Ota/BloombergTokyo’s Peninsula Hotel boasts a chauffeur-driven 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom, a celebrity podiatrist studio and an aviation lounge to whisk executives to and from its $1,000-a-night suites by helicopter. Since it opened in 2007, the rooftop helipad has never been used.
The hotel is one of about 80 buildings in the Japanese capital with a helipad, more than any other city in the world, but most are rarely if ever used. Partly this is because of the neighbors. Japan’s noise restrictions and local and national government rules mean that the few choppers in the Tokyo skies tend to be ferrying government officials or television crews.