Out of Norm Travels

I did a short roam over to Saga Japan earlier in November 2019 to witness the famous Saga International Balloon Fiesta, Asia's largest hot-air balloon festival. The 2019 Balloon Fiesta itself ran from October 30th (Wed) to November 5th (Tue) 2019. After landing in Fukuoka on Nov 1, it was an easy 1 hour bus connection direct from Fukuoka airport after purchasing the ticket machine from the ticketing machine. The bus comes at dedicated timing stated on the bus board.  Over the 6 days, SIBF combines three "tournaments" with grand fireworks and light shows put on by the hot-air balloons. The main launch site usually starts sending the hot-air balloons up for the competitions at around 7am. Weather is always a factor as the balloons cannot be put up during bad weather or strong winds. In fact, the afternoon competition flight on Nov 1 was cancelled due to strong winds. For 2019, there were 123 pilots from all over the world, 17 countries including Japan and a t...

In August, I made it 2 fireworks with  a single flight to Osaka .  The first fireworks is held at L ake Biw a (Otsu) which is a short 30mins ride from Kyoto for its Lake   Biwa  Fireworks  ( びわ湖大花火大会 ) . This  is a spectacular fireworks event held at the largest  lake  in the country,  Lake   Biwa  in Shiga Prefecture .  This hour-long fireworks event displays over 10,000 colourful fireworks over the magnificent  lake , inviting over 350,000 viewers every year.  As I didn't manage to get the seating area, I basically went to a nearby shore area in the afternoon to witness this event. Here is a short video (albeit tilted) and some photos taken at the event:  For more info of this fireworks event, go to  https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/hanabi/ .  I've enjoyed my time at Lake Biwa and will see you again in 2020!  The 2nd Fireworks event is held at Osaka cit...