During the pandemic the hot air balloon ride at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park was cancelled so often, I temporarily moved the information to the venue post. Now that things are going back to normal, its time to give it its own event post again. Before I merged the event and the park’s posts together, this event was one of the most read event for years on end. Probably because this is one of the few places near Tokyo that you can experience a balloon ride (nearly) every month. Moreover, at an affordable price. Not an event for the night owls though – this event is best suited to early risers!
Hot Air Balloon Ride
Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park offers the general public the chance of a short moored ride in a barrier free hot air balloon. On a clear day you can often see both Mt Fuji and Tokyo Skytree when the balloon ascends. The event is on between 7 am and 9 am once a month, always on a Sunday, between March and December. Moreover, in August they have two events. It costs just 2500 yen per person (the price went up 500 yen in 2022). It costs￥1000 for children over six. Another change during the pandemic was that they now charge 500 yen for children under six. It was free for them until the start of 2022.
During the pandemic they introduced a booking system. Before the pandemic, you just had to rock up on the day. However, the booking system has turned out useful, as it was common for people to be turned away on the day, when they had a first come first served system. They only do 100 rides each day. But, even with the booking system, the places are whipped up really quickly. Often the places are taken within a couple of hours of registration opening. Generally, registration opens the day after the last balloon ride. Booking / registration site.
Hot Air Balloon Dates
- May 14th – registration opened yesterday, April 17th.
- June 4th – registration opens on May 15th.
- July 2nd – registration opens on June 5th.
- August 6th – registration opens on July 3rd.
- August 27th – registration opens on August 7th.
- September 10th – registration opens August 28th.
- October 22nd – registration opens September 11th.
- November 12th – registration opens October 23rd.
- December 24th (last one until March 2024) – registration opens December 11th.
>>Check out all the other things you can do at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park here. (Including moon walking, flea market, water play area, seasonal flowers and more!)
Information
Event: Moored Hot Air Balloon Ride Experience 熱気球係留体験搭乗会
Date: as per the paragraph above. Next date Sunday May 14th 2023.
Time: reception opens at 6.45 am. The balloon rides are on from 7 am to around 9 am. There are four times slots between those two hours. You can opt for your preferred session, subject to availability, at the time of booking.
Cost: 2500 yen per adult, 1000 children for school aged children and people with a disability pass, 500 yen for preschoolers and younger
Venue: Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park, 1 Chome-13 Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-0042. View on Google Maps.
Access
The Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park is beside Seibu Shinjuku line’s Kokukoen station 「航空公園駅」・「こうくうこうえん」 . By car: the park is approximately 6 kilometers from the Tokorozawa Interchange of the Kanetsu expressway along route 463. There is parking on the North, South and East sides of the park. On the weekends the car parks can become very busy and people queue for a spot. There are alternatives with some reasonably priced coin parking lots nearby, but the parking at the aviation park is probably worth the wait as it is only 200 yen.
i like the idea of hot air ballooning but am worried i would freak out
Me too! Same with a helicopter, but the latter is one of those things I do hope to do before I die!