I went to a balloon festival in Saga, Japan for the first time. This is an international event and they had eighty thousand people for the three days this year. There were many unique balloons as below.
This "Ebisu" balloon is from Canada. The pilot is said to be famous and is from Calgary. The tree balloon is from the U.S. and the pilot is an environmentalist as you can imagine.
I was surprised how big the balloons were! I went close to look at the balloons and saw the crews sweating from working so hard to burn the banner.
One of the most popular events at the festival is when the crews grab "paper keys ", suspending from the poles. Two out of sixty teams could get the key. They got a scooter and a jacket, but those were not the top prizes. They seemed to be happy nevertheless, because it can be very tough as the balloons are subjected to the wind. The audience went wild when the other five teams almost made it.
I loved the night balloon show the most. The balloons were lit up after counting down; one, two, three and fire!
I had a chance to speak English with a couple from Australia. I was just listening to the conversation between my husband and them, smiling, being shy, which is typical for Japanese people. Then my husband prompted me to talk to them. I had a good time chatting with them in the end.
I highly recommend this festival. You can enjoy the balloons with no entrance fee!
