[JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort, Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture] Direct Access via Helicopter to Untrodden Silver Snow from the Sky
JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort conducted a monitor tour for a 'Helicopter + First Track' experience, offering direct flights to the summit. Full-scale sales will begin next season.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 13:35 (99h 3m after Collected)
"JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort" (Location: Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture), which provides exciting experiences throughout the four seasons, along with Kawasaki Gifu Service "Z-Leg™", has conducted a monitor tour for the development of a new ski experience product: "Helicopter + First Track". This was carried out as part of efforts to improve the value of winter experiences, taking the opportunity of the facility's rebranding in April 2026.
Utilizing the summit area at an altitude of 1,320m as a landing and takeoff zone, guests can directly access the very top of the slopes by helicopter. It is a "first track" experience where you can ski in special conditions that no one has skied yet. We plan to launch full-scale sales as a premium experience from the next season.
◆ Background and Purpose
With the increase in inbound tourists, tourism demand is rising in major urban areas such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya. Under these circumstances, utilizing helicopters will realize access in about one hour from major urban areas. On the other hand, Fukui Prefecture has diverse tourism resources, including high-quality snow resources due to abundant snowfall and food attractions represented by "Echizen crab". Through this initiative, we will broadcast the new tourism value of Fukui and aim to improve the stay value for domestic and international guests, including inbound tourists, and promote wide-area touring.
◆ The Appeal of "Helicopter + First Track"
This tour is a luxury experience that integrates transportation and the snowy mountain experience. Travel comfortably by helicopter to Fukui and head straight to the summit area (altitude 1,320m) of "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort", one of the largest ski resorts in western Japan. You can experience the "first track", enjoying the first run of the day under special conditions where no one has skied yet. It is a tour where you can taste the extraordinary and the essential charm of winter in one day.
In this monitor tour, we verified the operational effectiveness and feasibility regarding the "safe landing and takeoff of the helicopter in the summit area" and the "smooth start of skiing after landing".
◆ Scenes from the Monitor Tour
- Boarding the helicopter with excitement, with the morning sun at our backs.
- The journey itself turns into a scenic experience—a world of snowy mountains spreading across the sky.
- The moment of landing on the summit, a white stage.
- Snow flying up from the helicopter's rotor wind.
- Blessed with fine weather, a magnificent and beautiful scenery surrounded by a sea of clouds and the Hakusan mountain range unfolds, creating a special experience.
- Arriving from the sky to a first track limited only to those chosen.
◆ Comments from Monitor Tour Participants
"From the moment I boarded the helicopter, I felt an atmosphere different from everyday life was already flowing. As the aircraft rose, endlessly continuing snowy mountains spread out below. Also thanks to the clear weather, in addition to the all-silver scenery, we could even see a sea of clouds spreading like an ocean. When we landed near the summit, a pristine snowfield with no footprints at all spread out before us. Etching my own line into a slope no one had stepped on was a very comfortable, incredibly luxurious, and special 'first track' experience."
◆ Future Outlook
This tour utilizes the summit area of the ski resort as a helicopter landing and takeoff zone, providing an unprecedented, high-value-added ski experience where guests can slide out from the landing point directly onto an unskied slope.
Moving forward, we will further refine our operational procedures and develop this as a new snow resort experience for domestic and international guests, including inbound tourists.
◆ About JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort
Located in Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture, "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort" (formerly Ski Jam Katsuyama) was rebranded on April 1, 2026. The new name "JAM" incorporates the sentiment of "Journey to the Amazing Moment", and we propose the emotional moments encountered during your stay as "9 Amazing Moments".
During the winter season, you can enjoy a variety of skiing as one of the largest ski resorts in western Japan, featuring a maximum run distance of 5,800m and 16 courses in total. During the green season, starting this summer, we will develop highland activities taking advantage of the mountain field.
The adjoining official hotel, "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Tokyu Hotel & Resorts", is a resort hotel equipped with 100 guest rooms in total, an indoor pool, and a large hot spring bath. We introduce an inclusive service where accommodation fees include the use of activities, etc.
Utilizing the summit area at an altitude of 1,320m as a landing and takeoff zone, guests can directly access the very top of the slopes by helicopter. It is a "first track" experience where you can ski in special conditions that no one has skied yet. We plan to launch full-scale sales as a premium experience from the next season.
◆ Background and Purpose
With the increase in inbound tourists, tourism demand is rising in major urban areas such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya. Under these circumstances, utilizing helicopters will realize access in about one hour from major urban areas. On the other hand, Fukui Prefecture has diverse tourism resources, including high-quality snow resources due to abundant snowfall and food attractions represented by "Echizen crab". Through this initiative, we will broadcast the new tourism value of Fukui and aim to improve the stay value for domestic and international guests, including inbound tourists, and promote wide-area touring.
◆ The Appeal of "Helicopter + First Track"
This tour is a luxury experience that integrates transportation and the snowy mountain experience. Travel comfortably by helicopter to Fukui and head straight to the summit area (altitude 1,320m) of "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort", one of the largest ski resorts in western Japan. You can experience the "first track", enjoying the first run of the day under special conditions where no one has skied yet. It is a tour where you can taste the extraordinary and the essential charm of winter in one day.
In this monitor tour, we verified the operational effectiveness and feasibility regarding the "safe landing and takeoff of the helicopter in the summit area" and the "smooth start of skiing after landing".
◆ Scenes from the Monitor Tour
- Boarding the helicopter with excitement, with the morning sun at our backs.
- The journey itself turns into a scenic experience—a world of snowy mountains spreading across the sky.
- The moment of landing on the summit, a white stage.
- Snow flying up from the helicopter's rotor wind.
- Blessed with fine weather, a magnificent and beautiful scenery surrounded by a sea of clouds and the Hakusan mountain range unfolds, creating a special experience.
- Arriving from the sky to a first track limited only to those chosen.
◆ Comments from Monitor Tour Participants
"From the moment I boarded the helicopter, I felt an atmosphere different from everyday life was already flowing. As the aircraft rose, endlessly continuing snowy mountains spread out below. Also thanks to the clear weather, in addition to the all-silver scenery, we could even see a sea of clouds spreading like an ocean. When we landed near the summit, a pristine snowfield with no footprints at all spread out before us. Etching my own line into a slope no one had stepped on was a very comfortable, incredibly luxurious, and special 'first track' experience."
◆ Future Outlook
This tour utilizes the summit area of the ski resort as a helicopter landing and takeoff zone, providing an unprecedented, high-value-added ski experience where guests can slide out from the landing point directly onto an unskied slope.
Moving forward, we will further refine our operational procedures and develop this as a new snow resort experience for domestic and international guests, including inbound tourists.
◆ About JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort
Located in Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture, "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort" (formerly Ski Jam Katsuyama) was rebranded on April 1, 2026. The new name "JAM" incorporates the sentiment of "Journey to the Amazing Moment", and we propose the emotional moments encountered during your stay as "9 Amazing Moments".
During the winter season, you can enjoy a variety of skiing as one of the largest ski resorts in western Japan, featuring a maximum run distance of 5,800m and 16 courses in total. During the green season, starting this summer, we will develop highland activities taking advantage of the mountain field.
The adjoining official hotel, "JAM Fukui Katsuyama Tokyu Hotel & Resorts", is a resort hotel equipped with 100 guest rooms in total, an indoor pool, and a large hot spring bath. We introduce an inclusive service where accommodation fees include the use of activities, etc.