Sunday, November 7, 2010

Balloon School... the second year.

It's that time of year again... time for the Saga International Balloon Festival!
The Festival features balloonists from all over the world. It also features visitors from afar. We were grabbed for an interview on a radio station broadcasting live. No hard-hitting questions, only confirming to the hosts what they already know. Yes, Kyushu is very beautiful. Yes, the people are very nice. No, my Japanese is not as good as it should be.
People leaving the field after the Balloon Fantasia. That bumble bee doing a back bend was coming down for the day.
It was very, very crowded!!! This year we went on a Saturday. I really preferred going during the week last year. During the week, they most of the same features, with far shorter lines! Here is my post from the Balloon Festival last year.
In the picture above, the balloons are to the left. The open field was being used for kids on motorbikes. There was also a professional Honda motorbike show farther down the road. There were too many people crowded around, so we only saw bits and pieces. Luckily, they were also had a live broadcast on video screens in the middle of where the tents are in the picture above.
The announcers over the loud speakers said, "Bye-bye! Have a nice flight!" in English to this balloon as it left.
Okay, now leave! You'll be invited onto the field for Balloon School, but you'll also be told when to leave so that they may bring these balloons down. They make announcements in Japanese and English, but you can't miss the mass exodus of people leaving the launch field.
It's pretty easy to find the festival... just look to the sky! Them balloons are racing.
For a different perspective of the balloons, you can take a dragon boat down the canal. It costs 500-yen for adults and 300-yen for kids.

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