Saga City · Kase RiverNo.1271★★★Open in map →
Saga International Balloon Fiesta
Asia's largest hot-air balloon competition, held every year from late October into early November on the Kase River riverbank in Saga City. The 2026 competition runs from 30 October to 3 November.
- FromSaga Station
- 2 stops by JRJR temporary station, festival days only
- Get off atBalloon Saga Station (JR Nagasaki Line, temporary)
- On foot
- Saga International Balloon Fiesta
Where it is
14 more notes in Saga · open the map →What to look for
- Balloon Saga Stationtemporary platforms on the JR Nagasaki Line, open only while the festival runs
- Main launch fieldthe riverbed field where competing balloons inflate and lift off together
- Balloon Fantasiacharacter-shaped balloons put on show after the morning competition
- La Montgolfière Nocturneballoons tethered on the field and lit up after dark on the last two evenings
How to actually get there
- Saga Station → Balloon Saga Station (JR Nagasaki Line, two stops west; festival days only).
- Balloon Saga Station → the main launch field on the Kase River riverbank (a short walk).
- Watch the morning competition flight, then stay for the shaped balloons of Balloon Fantasia.
- On the last two evenings, come back after dark for La Montgolfière Nocturne.
- JR to Balloon Saga Station
- Balloon Saga Station is a temporary stop on the JR Nagasaki Line, two stops west of Saga Station, and it opens only while the festival runs. Local trains on the Nagasaki and Karatsu lines call there through the day, and some limited expresses from Hakata stop there too, so no change is needed from Fukuoka. The launch field is right beside the station.
- Back from Balloon Saga Station
- Leave time for the return: the station gets very crowded as soon as a competition flight or the night tethering ends. On night-tethering evenings, trains keep stopping there later than on other days.
About the place
The Saga International Balloon Fiesta spreads along the riverbed of the Kase River, west of central Saga, and gathers more than a hundred balloons from Japan and overseas. The venue runs for about 8 km along the river, and the Saga Plain around it is flat and open. Several contests share the field, among them the Pacific Cup and a round of the Honda Grand Prix. Each competition flight takes one of two forms: a mass lift-off from the field, or a fly-in from launch points outside it.
How to enjoy it
Competition flights go up in the early morning and again in the afternoon. Each one is decided at a briefing just beforehand, so nothing is announced in advance. Aim for the morning: the air is calmer, the flight is more likely to go ahead, and Balloon Fantasia follows once it ends. On the last two evenings, stay on or come back after dark for the night tethering.
Background & history
It began in 1978 as Balloon Festa in Kyushu, held in Amagi, Fukuoka Prefecture. In 1980 it moved to the Saga Plain, and in 1984 it became an international event, the first in Asia, under its present name. Saga has since hosted the World Hot Air Balloon Championship three times, in 1989, 1997 and 2016. By late autumn the rice on the surrounding plain has been harvested, leaving open fields where balloons can come down.
Before you go
- Cash
- Entry to the riverbank venue is free. IC cards such as SUGOCA work at Balloon Saga Station. The car park north of the venue charges a fee (2,000 yen for a car when checked), while the city's temporary car parks are free and linked to the field by shuttle bus.
- Before you go
- Every flight depends on the weather: it needs no rain, good visibility and gentle wind, and afternoon flights are the ones most often called off. Balloon Saga Station closes when the festival ends, and trains pass straight through for the rest of the year.
- Another way
- From Tenjin in Fukuoka, the Nishitetsu 'Wakakusu' highway bus runs to Saga Station Bus Center, where you change to JR for Balloon Saga Station.
- After you get off
- Step off the temporary platforms and the launch field on the Kase River riverbank is right beside you.