Yanaigawa Heliport

Economic and project-based. The heliport was a private, temporary off-airfield landing site (known in Japan as a 'jōgai richakuriku-jō') established specifically for a heli-logging operation. It was closed because the forestry project it was built to support was completed, thus eliminating its operational purpose and economic justification.

The site remains a clearing in a forested, mountainous area. Satellite imagery shows that the concrete helipad, with a faded 'H' marking, is still intact. The surrounding area is used as a log collection and sorting yard ('doba') for ground-based forestry operations. The facility is not an active, registered heliport but could potentially be used as an emergency landing zone.

The heliport has no broad historical significance as a public, commercial, or military installation. Its importance was purely functional and localized to the forestry industry in the Ehime Prefecture. It served as a critical logistical hub for heli-logging, a method used to extract timber from steep, inaccessible mountain terrain. Operations consisted of heavy-lift helicopters transporting logs from felling sites to the heliport, where they were then loaded onto trucks.

There are no known plans or prospects to reopen Yanaigawa Heliport for any regular aviation activity. A reopening would be highly improbable unless a new, specific industrial need, such as another large-scale heli-logging project, arises in the immediate vicinity. While it could be used in an emergency, there are no official plans to formally reactivate it.