Report
[08/25] It's a "hot" day.
It's been so hot these days, hasn't it?
So were Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, 26 in Tokyo.
The Yoyogi Park was filled with excitement for the event titled "A balloon fiesta in Yoyogi.
It was the fifth event to make known the "Saga International Balloon Fiesta" and ballooning itself.
We seldom have a chance to see huge hot-air balloons here in Tokyo, so the park was crowded with a lot of spectators from early in the morning.
Every year a balloon or two visit here from Saga, and this year we could see the "Saga Ebisu" balloon.
It was the most popular balloon for its charming design at the park.
However, there is a problem with a tethered balloon. It is the wind.
As the sun began to rise in the eastern sky, it began to blow. As a result the huge balloons, the Saga Ebisu and the Honda Asimo, started to sway in the wind. It seemed that the giant balloons were waving to the spectators!
I could have a chance to talk with Mr. Yamaguchi, who was chief of the weather obserevation team at the Saga International Hot-air Balloon Fiesta in 2006.
He said that the Saga Ebisu is larger than other ordianry balloons and weighs as much as nearly 300 kilograms. Therefore it is easily influenced by the wind.
Incidentally, an ordinary balloon weighs about 100 kilograms, so the Saga Ebisu is about threetimes as heavy as other balloons, isn't it? The Ebisu is called a "shaped" balloon and it is not so simple in its sutructure, compared to the ordinary ones. For instance, it has two big arms stretched horizontally.
I could also watch the crew members lift it off from the beginning. I was really impressed by the Ebisu balloon with so many parts like its head, arms, the sea bream held in his left arm, and a vent for it. With this and that, the Saga Ebisu balloon needed much longer time in lifting and folding, too. But we spectators were all the more pleased to watch the procedures.
After watching the tethered balloons and going up in it, we attended a ballooning class. All the spectators were allowded to help lift the "Pioneer," the third generation balloon. How surprised we were to see the violent sparks from the burner and hear the thundering sound! We were so upset to see the bigness of the envelope spread on the launch ground. When the giant balloon lifted up at last, all of us clapped our hands. Mr. Mizokami, a pilot with the present Japanese championship, said that a hot-air balloon is a flying vehicle which inflates your dream. We quite agreed to his greetings.
And in the evening we could watch and enjoy the fantastic program called "La Montgolfier Nocturne" at the park. Five tethered balloons sparked and extinguished fires from their burners to swinging music. We ere so absorbed in the romantic atmosphere, forgetting the advancing night.
Reported by Tomy
So were Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, 26 in Tokyo.
The Yoyogi Park was filled with excitement for the event titled "A balloon fiesta in Yoyogi.
It was the fifth event to make known the "Saga International Balloon Fiesta" and ballooning itself.
We seldom have a chance to see huge hot-air balloons here in Tokyo, so the park was crowded with a lot of spectators from early in the morning.
Every year a balloon or two visit here from Saga, and this year we could see the "Saga Ebisu" balloon.
It was the most popular balloon for its charming design at the park.
However, there is a problem with a tethered balloon. It is the wind.
As the sun began to rise in the eastern sky, it began to blow. As a result the huge balloons, the Saga Ebisu and the Honda Asimo, started to sway in the wind. It seemed that the giant balloons were waving to the spectators!
I could have a chance to talk with Mr. Yamaguchi, who was chief of the weather obserevation team at the Saga International Hot-air Balloon Fiesta in 2006.
He said that the Saga Ebisu is larger than other ordianry balloons and weighs as much as nearly 300 kilograms. Therefore it is easily influenced by the wind.
Incidentally, an ordinary balloon weighs about 100 kilograms, so the Saga Ebisu is about threetimes as heavy as other balloons, isn't it? The Ebisu is called a "shaped" balloon and it is not so simple in its sutructure, compared to the ordinary ones. For instance, it has two big arms stretched horizontally.
I could also watch the crew members lift it off from the beginning. I was really impressed by the Ebisu balloon with so many parts like its head, arms, the sea bream held in his left arm, and a vent for it. With this and that, the Saga Ebisu balloon needed much longer time in lifting and folding, too. But we spectators were all the more pleased to watch the procedures.
After watching the tethered balloons and going up in it, we attended a ballooning class. All the spectators were allowded to help lift the "Pioneer," the third generation balloon. How surprised we were to see the violent sparks from the burner and hear the thundering sound! We were so upset to see the bigness of the envelope spread on the launch ground. When the giant balloon lifted up at last, all of us clapped our hands. Mr. Mizokami, a pilot with the present Japanese championship, said that a hot-air balloon is a flying vehicle which inflates your dream. We quite agreed to his greetings.
And in the evening we could watch and enjoy the fantastic program called "La Montgolfier Nocturne" at the park. Five tethered balloons sparked and extinguished fires from their burners to swinging music. We ere so absorbed in the romantic atmosphere, forgetting the advancing night.
Reported by Tomy
Trackback URL: http://www.sibf.info/mt/mt-tb.cgi/70
