By James Hadfield

Travel Jun. 11, 2009 - 05:09AM JST ( 6 )

The longest total solar eclipse of the century is just over a month away, and people are falling over each other to ensure that they’re in the right place to see it. In Japan, that means going south. The best views on the morning of July 22 will be from Kita Iwojima, where the eclipse will last for over six minutes.

However, most travelers are heading to the more accessible Osumi, Tokara and Amami archipelagoes, which lie between the southernmost tip of Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa. Hardened revelers are advised to make a beeline to Amami Oshima, which is hosting the Eclipse 2009 music festival from July 16 to 24. The line-up includes UK rave veterans System 7, domestic techno icons Ken Ishii and Takkyu Ishino, and jam bands Dachambo and The Sun Paulo, as well as indigenous local musicians. Advance tickets cost 30,000 yen (plus 5,000 yen for access to the campsite) and are only available at www.totalsolareclipsefestival.jp.

If you’d prefer something a bit more sedate, Kinki Nippon Travel is one of a number of companies offering package tours to coincide with the event. Trips of between four and ten days to the Tokara archipelago are being organized, departing from Kagoshima and Naha, with prices starting at 342,000 ye. Note that this doesn’t include return transportation from Tokyo, and the official website cautions that, owing to limited resources on the islands themselves, “observers will experience harsh conditions such as a prolonged itinerary, overnight accommodations in a vessel, poorly equipped remote clinics, [and] limited accommodation facilities resulting in requesting most participants to stay in non air-conditioned gymnasiums and tents.” Er… money well spent, then.

More information is available at www.knt.co.jp/eclipse/index_e.html

Metropolis magazine