The following specifications are
the suggested route and instructions.
１．First of all, please enjoy a film
about hot air balloons with
you can enjoy the video feeling
the realism as if you were there.
２．After watching the film,
please go up to the 2nd floor
and visit the exhibit area.
３．The exit is on the 2nd floor.
(you cannot exit from
the entrance gate on the 1st floor)
Once you exit,
you cannot re-enter
without a special reason.
(annual passport holders are excluded.)
If you have any question,
please do not hesitate to ask our staff.
Please take the time to enjoy
and feel the charm of hot air balloons.
From All the staff of SAGA Balloon Museum
In this corner, we introduce the individuals
and groups that contributed to
the development of the culture
of the hot air balloon and the improvement
of its competitiveness.
“Icarus 5” accomplished the first manned
hot air balloon flight in Japan
on September 27, 1969.
This balloon was jointly created by
“Icarus Shoten Group”, mainly consisted of
students in Kyoto,
and “Hokkaido University Exploration Club”.
The hot air balloon displayed here uses
the real basket used for “Icarus 5”.
The balloon fabric on the upper part is
not real, but the color of Icarus 5 was
the same vivid orange.
(Please do not touch.)
(This film is an interview with
Mr. Nobuo Shimamoto, one of
the members of “Icarus Shoten Group”
that took the challenge to accomplish
the first manned hot air balloon flight in Japan.)
The dream of human beings “to fly in the sky like a bird” came true for the first time by a hot air balloon. Currently, people all over the world can enjoy it as a sky sport.
Montgolfier brothers (France) succeeded in the first manned flight by a hot air balloon in the world on November 21, 1783. They flew over Paris for 25 minutes, a distance of approximately 8-9 km. And 10 days later, Jacques Charles (France) succeeded in the first manned flight by a gas balloon filled with hydrogen.
In Japan, the first manned flight by a gas balloon was accomplished in Kyoto in December 1877. It was said that there was a great turnout of an audience of approximately 50,000.
Wright brothers (United States) had the first manned flight by an airplane in the world in 1903. This historical event has made the airplane as a main flying vehicle, and put a hot air balloon to the end of its actual role.
In Japan, “Icarus 5” succeeded in the first manned flight in Hokkaido on September 28, 1969. They opened the modern history of a hot air balloon in Japan. The first hot air balloon festival in Japan was held in Hokkaido in July, 1974 (the number of attendance: 5 balloons).
The first balloon fiesta in Saga was held in 1980, and “Balloon Club Kachigarasu”, the first balloon team in Saga was formed in February 1981.
The gas balloon called “Two Eagles”, which departed from Saga city in January 2015, updated a world record for flight distance and flight duration by a gas balloon (flight distance: 10,696 km / flight duration: 160 hours 37 minutes).
Albuquerque is the biggest city in New Mexico, at approximately 1,500 meters above sea level, with the mountains in the east and the river valley spreading in the west. The direction of the wind varies according to the altitude due to the topography around the town, which is suitable for balloon operation.
The specific outlook of the building of the museum imagines a balloon. At this museum, you can enjoy various displays and experiences. “Saga International Balloon Fiesta” is also introduced as one of the 3 major world balloon festivals.
Château-d’Oex, a small town located in western Switzerland, is a departure place of the Rozière
balloon that accomplished the first non-landing flight around the world in 1999.
This town has a special current of air suited to the operation of balloons due to its weather similar to the polar regions.
At this museum, you can enjoy a 3D theater and the display of “Breitling Orbiter 3”, the Rozière balloon that accomplished the first non-landing flight around the world.
※Please touch the screen in the middle to see the images of festivals all over the world
The boom of the balloon as a new sport has been spread throughout the world since the 20th century, and balloon festivals have been held in each place.
Main festivals include “Gordon Bennet Cup” which is an authoritative cup with the longest history, “International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Château-d’Oex” which is held in a beautiful snow scenery,
“Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta”, the biggest festival in the world with the attendance of over 700 balloons, and “Adirondack Balloon Festival” which is held in the sister city of Saga (they have become the sister cities as they have a balloon in common).
※Please touch the screen in the middle to watch images of festivals all over Japan.
Many hot air balloon festivals are held in Japan every year. Some are held in winter with snow scenery, and some are held in spring having a beautiful contrast with the cherry blossoms. The festivals in Saga are held from the end of May to the middle of June, and from the end of October to the end of February, which are the best for flight conditions.
※Please touch the screen in the middle to watch images from past fiestas.
Saga International Balloon Fiesta is an international festival held in every autumn, on the riverbed of the Kase River in Saga city as a main cite. Beside the competitions, various events held during the fiesta are as follows;
Saga International Balloon Fiesta started in 1980. The former balloon fiesta actually started in Fukuoka prefecture, next to Saga prefecture in 1978, then they moved the site to Saga city in 1980. The fiesta has been held in the Saga Plain since then, as its mild wind and vast area is ideal for flying hot air balloons.
The fiesta started with only 14 balloons at first. However, more and more balloons attended and it finally became the first hot air balloon world championship in Japan in 1989. The 2nd hot air balloon world championship was held in 1997, and the 3rd one in 2016. Currently, it is the biggest event in Saga city with the attendance of more than 100 balloons and the audience of over 800,000 every year. The hot air balloon has become a culture of Saga city.
You can find the flight map used for the Saga Fiesta on the floor, and the posters of the past fiestas on the display panel next to it.
You can change the screen by touching “→” and ”←” on the corner of the panel, and go back to the top screen by touching “↺”.
※With the screen in the middle, you can see how the flight is prepared.
A balloon ascends when a burner is burned and the temperature inside of the balloon is raised, and descends when the hot air is released from the top of the balloon by pulling a cord called the lip line.
The ideal times for the flight of a balloon are immediately after the sunrise and immediately before the sunset without the strong wind. As the direction of the wind varies according to the altitude, you should control the altitude by changing the interval and duration to burn the burner, and look for the wind with which you can fly (go) in the direction you want. A balloon is a vehicle exactly “relying on the wind”, as it flies to the direction of the wind, at the same speed as the wind.
※Please touch the screen in the middle to see different kinds of competitions.
There are approximately 20 kinds of balloon competitions. Most of them are to compete accurate operation within a specific time. The base of these competitions is to fly towards the goal (target) from a takeoff place which is a few kilometers away, then throw down a marker (a gizzard) to the target. The distance between the target and the marker is measured. The shorter the distance is, the higher the score is.
Details of the competition are decided by the chairman of the competition with a comprehensive judgement including the weather of the competition day.
The burner of a hot air balloon heats the air inside of the balloon by burning propane gas. The air has a property to expand when it is warmed. When a part of the expanded air overflows from the balloon, the number of the air particle in the balloon fabric is reduced, which makes the balloon lighter. When the difference of the temperatures between inside and outside of the balloon fabric reaches approximately 80℃, the air balloon has enough buoyancy to float in the sky.
A hot air balloon cannot fly with bad weather conditions such as the strong wind, rain, thunder, and ascending currents of air. That is why the pilot and crews check the condition of the wind by floating a test balloon (pilot balloon) to measure the direction and speed of the wind before a takeoff. The flow of the wind changes not only with the direction varying according to altitude, but also with topography.
Saga has a stable flow of the air with a mild climate all through the year in comparison with other places in Japan. Saga also has the vast Saga Plain which is ideal for flying a hot air balloon.