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 city itself near the Yodo River. The 2019 Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Display is on its 31st ann