Out of Norm Travels

For 2019 , my Japan adventures kickstarted with Fireworks at  Lake Biwa and Osaka in August (here is the blog entry for my Fireworks trip Osaka trip) and recently in November to Saga (mainly  for the Saga International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - blog entry here).  This entry is for an unexpected detour to  Karatsu , an hour away from for their Karatsu Festival .  Karatsu (唐津) is where this festival is held and is a coastal city in Saga Prefecture on Kyushu, about 50 kilometers west of Fukuoka. In the past, Karatsu was a major stop for ships making the journey towards Korea and China because it is one of the closest Japanese cities to the Korean Peninsula. Today the city is known for its castle, the annual Karatsu Kunchi festival held in November 2 to 4 every year.  During Karatsu Kunichi, floats are paraded in the order of completion with the oldest being the Red Lion Aka-jishi (made in 1819) and youngest float called 7 Jewel (Shichiho-maru) made in 1876...

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...

List of trips taken over the years  2020: 1. Nepal - Kathmandu, Pokhara  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2020/03/out-of-norm-travels-2020-yoga-retreat.html 2019: 1. Feb  Italy  Venice - Carnival with Ugo Cei and Robin Yong  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/03/out-of-norm-travels-2019-venice.html 2. Feb Italy Florence and Cinque Terre  3. March Indonesia Batam Nikon School Singapore Photo Fiesta 4. April Malaysia Penang  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/04/out-of-norm-travels-2019-penang-food.html 5. May Australia Astrophotography 6. August - Japan Lake Biwa & Okinawa  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_21.html 7. Nov - Japan - Karatsu & Saga http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_97.html & http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-j...