Saga International Balloon Fiesta — Asia's Largest Hot Air Balloon Event

Every November, the flat alluvial plain of the Kase River outside Saga City transforms into the launch site for 100+ hot air balloons from 20 countries — the largest competitive balloon festival in Asia and one of the top five worldwide. The dawn mass ascent, when 50–80 balloons launch simultaneously in the pre-sunrise darkness and then rise through the morning mist, is among the most extraordinary spectacles in Japanese outdoor events — completely unreported in Western travel media.