As a treat to myself, I decided to take the MCAS (Mori Building City Air Services) helicopter service to Tokyo's Narita Internarional Airport today. I'm flying back home for Christmas after a long, hard year; so why not? The one-way fare is published at 45,000 JPY (about 530 USD) but I get a preferential rate because I live in a Mori Living apartment building in Tokyo.

The helicopter service operates from the helipad on the roof of ARK Hills in central Tokyo, and flies to the Sakura heliport which is about a fifteen minute drive from Narita Airport itself; so this is really a hybrid fly/drive option. To be honest though, the worst part of getting to Narita is getting out of central Tokyo itself, plus apparently the Narita heliport itself has a tendency to get socked in with fog.

The service includes car service from your home/office to ARK Hills, use of the MCAS Lounge on the 37th floor there, the helicopter flight (of course) and the car transfer to NRT itself. I timed my journey at 55 minutes from the time I locked the front door of my apartment in Atago Green Hills to the time I walked up to the BA first class checkin.

The day started with a telephone call at 7.30am from MCAS to confirm the operation of my flight and the 9am car pickup. This was not a huge surprise, because the weather conditions were perfect - with a view of Mt Fuji from my balcony. If the weather does prevent the helicopter flight, MCAS will provide substitute limousine service if requested or just cancel the reservation and allow you to make your own way.

At about 9.05am, I made my way down to the carriage-porch to find the limousine waiting for me. The service was provided by Hinomaru -- which is a familiar name as a taxi firm to Tokyo residents -- but the vehicle was a bit plusher than your typical Crown Comfort. This was the Toyota Century: the flagship Toyota vehicle (a variant of which is used as the official car of the Japanese royal family), upholstered unusually in dark grey leather rather than the normal velour cloth.

A short ride through the back streets of Kamiyacho and Toranomon, past the Okura hotel, lead to ARK Hills. I was greeted on arrival by an MCAS representative who took me through a locked back door to the elevator up to the 37th floor, and the lounge.

On a clear day, the view from here is spectacular and today was very clear. The lounge itself was small but comfortable. Given that each service will have no more than 4 passengers, it's actually rather spacious. Travelers on the service have the option of requesting access to the ARK Hills private members club for a meal or to use a meeting room, but I didn't take up this offer.

I was brought a cup of coffee made to taste and perused the adult beverage section briefly; deciding against a slug of Hennessy XO in my coffee (that's not mixing brandy). The design was stylish with a display tank apparently full of small jellyfish, a large plasma TV -- rather mysteriously set to a French language news channel when I arrived with plenty of comfortable seats; especially as it seemed I was the only passenger for this flight.

Just as I finished my coffee, the lounge host came to inform me that the aircraft was about to arrive and that we should make our way to the roof. At this point, there was a security check -- this is after all a scheduled air service! I was briefly wanded (no bag X-ray or any such thing) before we made our way up the elevator to the roof level. The host confirmed my suspicion that I would be the only passenger onboard.

The helicopter arrived after about 1 minute, and my luggage was placed in the hold at the rear (n.b. for the heavier packers: one bag only, and subject to quite a strict linear-inches measurement); the staff placed steps up to the helicopter and allowed me to board. MCAS operates the Eurocopter EC135, in two versions -- one 'regular' and one with Hermes design features like glove leather upholstery. This was the former; but perfectly comfortable; although would've been I suspect a little snug with four taller passengers aboard. I don't think wheeled carry-ons are permitted; I only had a smaller shoulder bag which was no issue.

After checking I was securely buckled-in, the ground crew retreated and we took off for the quick flight to the Sakura heliport -- rising up and backwards a little before nosing down and beginning the forward motion. The flight path seemed to be more or less due east; affording a marvelous view of southern Tokyo and the bay from my window; including a rarely-seen aerial view of the Rainbow Bridge. It's difficult to overstate what a spectacular view you get from flying over central Tokyo in a helicopter.

The flight was very smooth (although I'd forgotten how noisy even quiet passenger helicopters are) and soon we arrived into the Sakura heliport; which is really quite a nondescript facility. The rotors of the helicopter were allowed to spin down completely before the steps were brought to the door and I was welcomed to the final part of my trip. A car was waiting for me -- this 'just' a Crown Royal sedan, but very adequate for the brief run along the expressway to the airport.

Just about 9.55am, we arrived at the far end of Terminal 2; the driver retrieved my bag (the first time I'd been in possession of it since leaving home) and wished me a safe journey with the customary bow.

FIN.