[Event Report] A 20-meter giant balloon (hot air balloon) appears in the Tokyo sky! 50 elementary school students rejoice at the 'flying experience' gifted by Saga City
Saga City held a balloon experience event for elementary school students in Tokyo to promote the city's charm.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 28, 2026 at 15:54
- 🔍 Collected: March 28, 2026 at 21:59 (6h 4m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 15, 2026 at 05:58 (415h 58m after Collected)
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Saga City, Saga Prefecture, held a balloon experience event at Jiyu Gakuen (Higashikurume City, Tokyo) for approximately 50 children in Tokyo to help them experience the charm of 'Saga City, the City of Balloons.' In addition to an inside-the-envelope experience, a promotional video tied to the new song 'with you,' written specifically for this project by HY, was unveiled for the first time at the venue, allowing the children to realize the 'importance of looking up at the sky' along with the music.
◉ Thoughts from Saga Mayor Hidetaka Sakai
'Making time to look up at the sky a natural part of children's lives.' A message from the Mayor, gifted after 22 years of living in Tokyo.
Through this balloon experience event at Jiyu Gakuen in Tokyo, we unveiled a Saga City balloon promotional video featuring the new song 'with you' written by HY.
When I lived in Tokyo, I realized that despite the many tall buildings, I was so busy that I only looked at my feet or screens, and I stopped looking up at the sky. What suddenly came to mind was the scenery of Saga, where over 100 balloons fill the clear autumn sky.
Saga City is currently promoting the 'Making Flying Experiences Standard Project,' where every elementary school student in the city experiences a balloon ride before graduation. This fiscal year, we provided tethered flight experiences to 11,817 children across 40 schools.
This morning, about 20 children experienced a tethered flight, and in the second half, they had time to touch the giant balloon envelope and go inside, feeling the hot air balloon with their five senses—the texture and the echo of the sound. I hope this day becomes a trigger for them to look up at the sky and relax their hearts. And I hope that when people think of Saga City, they remember balloons.