Details of the largest Golden Week event, the “45th Iwakuni Air Base Friendship Day 2024,” to be held at the Iwakuni Air Base, have been revealed.
The main attraction of Friendship Day is the diverse air shows held in the sky above the venue. Visitors can witness spectacular aerial performances, including acrobatic maneuvers and high-speed flights by fighter jets, up close, which are not typically seen in everyday life.
A highlight program is the performance by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s “Blue Impulse,” highly acclaimed both domestically and internationally. It has been confirmed that they will showcase aerobatic flying over the skies of the Iwakuni base for the second consecutive year.
This year, the globally renowned air race pilot, Mr. Yoshihide Muroya, will also be performing at Friendship Day. His expertise, which led him to become the first Asian to win the overall championship in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, will be demonstrated in the skies above the Iwakuni base.
In April of last year, the “Fly for ALL #LookUpToTheSky” flight project, which aimed to deliver smiles to the skies across Japan, gained attention by drawing smiley faces in the skies over 10 locations in Hiroshima Prefecture, including above the Atomic Bomb Dome.
From the United States, the world’s largest skydiving team, “Team Fastrax,” will showcase parachute jumps at the event, along with various combat aircraft flying demonstrations. Additionally, numerous military aircraft and equipment will be exhibited for visitors to see at the venue.
Furthermore, various air shows, including a ceremonial flight by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, are scheduled to be presented.
Friendship Day 2024 will be held on May 5th (Sunday), with entry to the venue starting at 7:00 AM.
