Saga International Balloon Fiesta, Tips to Enjoy the Fullest

Saga International Balloon Fiesta is held annually in early November.

Approximately 100 hot air balloons from all over the world gather in Saga prefecture for this fiesta.

Since I moved to Sasebo 7 years ago, I go to this fiesta every year.

Here is the information based on my experiences for you to enjoy the fiesta the fullest.

Even though you don't know anything about balloon competition, you can einjoy it for sure!

What is Saga International Ballon Fiesta?

Saga International Balloon Fiesta is an international balloon (hot air balloon) festival (competition) held at the main venue on the banks of the Kasegawa River in Saga City, Saga Prefecture.

About 100 balloons participate!

The number of visitors during the event exceeds 800,000, making it one of the largest scale events in Asia.

What events are taking place?

【Launch site (competition area)】
The lawn area on the south side of the venue. Balloon flights (competitions) and charactor balloon moorings will be held here!

【Balloon Plaza】
The central area of the venue.

Events are held at the Honda Welcome Plaza, and official merchandise stores, and food and beverage stands are located.

Balloon classes will also be held here.

【Recreation Plaza】
The area on the north side of the venue where the Event Square, Umakamon Market, and Hometown Products Market are located.

In the event square, public radio recordings and concerts by musicians will be held.

At the Umakamon Market and the Furusato Products Market, you can enjoy local food and specialty products of Saga!

Balloon Competition

Balloon competition is the sky sports to compete how closer the pilot can get to the target.

Due to weather conditions, competition details will not be known until the day of the event (30 minutes before the competition).

In the Task Briefing, the event directors explain about tasks and the weather condition, and pilots are supplied small sandbags called Marker.

Pilots try to drop a marker when they got closer to the target and the pilot who made it closer without infringements gets high score.

For more details, please visit the official site.

Balloon flights (competitions), two main categories.

Balloon flights (competitions) at the Balloon Fiesta are divided into two main categories.

【takeoff from the venue】

Ballons take off from the launch site in the south of the venue to a target outside the venue (a few kilometers away).

About 80 balloons will take off at once in about 30 minutes after the competition starts.

This is breathtaking but I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet.

【Fly-in from outside the venue to inside the venue】

Balloons will fly in from outside the venue (several kilometers away) towards the target at the launch site.

For the fly-in, balloons will fly into the venue one after another within one to two hours after the competition starts.

(Depending on the wind direction and the skill of the pilot)

Key Grab Race

The final flight of the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

Balloons will fly from outside the Kasegawa riverbed to grab a large fake "key" hanging from a pole in the center of the launch site (competition area)!

As in the regular competition, if they can aim at the correct position, all they have to do is… NOT "throw the marker"….

The pilot's amazing skill to bring the balloon so close to the ground to GRAB the key will excite you!

Balloon Fantasia

Popular cartoon characters and cute animals will appear as giant balloons.

If weather, wind, and other conditions are favorable, you will be able to enter the launch site, which you would not normally be allowed to do so.

It will be a great chance to see the balloons up close.

You can also get into the basket of some of the balloons and they turn the burner fire on!

La Montgolfier Nocturne (Night Mooring)

In the darkness, balloons spread all over the riverbed are illuminated by the red flames of the burners.

The colorful balloons illuminated by the burners in the darkness are a fantastic sight.

At the end of the night mooring, with the call of "Burners On!, fireworks will be set off across the bank of the Kasegawa River!

For more infromation on the events and schedule at Saga International Balloon Festival, visit the official site.

Best Time to Visit Saga International Balloon Fiesta

Best Time to visit Saga Balloon Festa depends on what you want to see.

Some of the events only happens on the weekends.

Check the events schedule.

If you want to avoid the traffic jam and crowd, during the week is better.

But one thing I can recommend is ... go in the morning!

Balloon Competition, Morning? Afternoon?

My first year going to Saga International Balloon Festa did not go with what I expected.

Yes, it was fun going to the event, but I couldn't see many balloons.

Afternoon competition was cancelled.

I learned that the morning competition has a higher successful flight rate due to the wind conditions.

The winds in the morning hours tend to be calmer than in the afternoon, so I really recommend you to go in the morning.

You have to wake up early to make it to the morning competition, but it is worth it.

I promise.

Access to the site

Refer to the official site for the access.

Balloon Saga Station is opened only during this festa, so you can take a train to the event as well.

However, I recommend you to park your car at one of the designated parking area and take a shuttle bus.

Every year, I park my car at Kaisei Elementary school and take a shuttle bus from there.

(500 yen each, round trip. Don't lose your ticket!)

It takes 15 minutes to the event site without a trafic jam.

I don't remember how frequent the shuttle bus comes, but I have never waited that long.

(However, during the weekends in the morning, there are lots of people waiting for a shuttle bus and the shuttle bus gets caught in a traffic jam.)

Get to a Shuttle Bus Stop Early during the Weekends

As I mentioned above, I never have gotten a chance to see "takeoff" of the balloons.

One reason was it was fly-in, but another is I couldn't make it to the site by 7:00.

During the week, if you get to the shuttle bus stop around 6:00, you will be able to get to the site by 7:00.

However, during the weekends, with the traffic jam and many people waiting for a shuttle bus, I reccomend you to get there as early as possible (5:00) if you want to get to the site by 7:00.

(No guarantee. It might be fly-in instead of takeoff that day)

But this is my plan to get to Kaisei Elementary school at 5:00 this year.

Staying at a hotel a night before or/and that night

If time allows, I recommend staying at a hotel a night before or/and that night.

You can enjoy at Saga International Balloon fiesta all day and other places in Saga.

This hotel (link below) is 15 minutes away from the event site or Kaisei Elementary School.

Saga Kawakamikyo Onsen Hotel Ryutoen

They have good reviews about their meals.

Bento (breakfast) will be provided if you ask them that you are leaving early in the morning for the balloon fiesta.

(If your plan includes breakfast)

For other hotels in Saga-city, please check the below link.

Hotels in Saga-city

*Since it is expected that a lot of people visiting to the event, hotels will be booked fully soon.

Reference ArticleHow to book a hotel at Rakuten Travel

Rakuten Travel is one of the largest online hotel booking websites. Once you create Rakuten account, ...

続きを見る

Others

Here are some other information I think helpful.

What to bring?

You don't need to worry about food or drink since there are lots of venders at the event.

Diaper changing rooms and breast feeding rooms are available as well.

What I recommend to bring is a warm jacket, hat, and blanket, or anything that keep you warm.

If you are going to the event during the day, you might not need to worry about it, but if you are going to the event in the morning, stuff to keep you warm is a must have.

Another thing that I recommend you to bring is a picnic sheet.

You will end up seeing the balloons (especially) flying in for a long time, so if you have a picnic sheet, you can put it on the ground and sit down.

Lost Child Band

If you are going to the fiesta with a kid, they are distributing Maigo Band (Lost child Band) at the entrance of the fiesta.

What you need to do is write your and your child name, and contact information on the band and your child will put that on around his/her list.

That way, if your child is small and got lost, stuff can help the child with the information on the band.

Higatayoka Park

Higatayoka park is the park where I always stop by with my kids after the balloon fiesta.

This is a very fun park!

Big composite playground equipment and field to play at.

However; not only the playground but also it is attractive because of the dark-red shichimenso flowers, which bloom in autumn.

It is a valuable and endangered saltwater plant that grows in an environment where it becomes land at low tide and is immersed in seawater at high tide.

You can also see mudskippers there.

Make sure to check the official web site for the weather conditions and traffic/parking information.

Saga International Balloon Fiesta