For the people of Amami Oshima, a small island off Kyushu, it's a phenomenal phenomenon that only comes around once in a blue moon.

That's right - a music festival is coming to town!

This week the island's population will swell to beyond what its infrastructure can comfortably handle as visitors pour in from all over the world for a one-off jive taking place on Wednesday.

Island residents (average age 87) will join the hoards of tranced-up techno ravers as they hip-hop, line dance and conga the night away, popping a variety of pills as they go - though they'll probably be more for bad backs and chest complaints than for reaching a plateau of euphoria.

By chance, on the same day, the moon will saunter over in front of the sun for a few minutes, making it all go a bit dark.

Special glasses should be worn when this happens, in order to bring a sense of fun to the occasion....


Specs which create a sense of fun.


The eclipse, like the festival, doesn't happen every day, and so everyone is hoping for clear skies.

An eclipse under cloudy skies is often somewhat disappointing, and can end up looking a lot like this....


According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, cloudy skies happen more often than eclipses.


....when actually everyone is hoping to see the pretty diamond ring effect....



If the light falls at the right angle and the clouds don't get in the way, the eclipse can look like a diamond ring.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 7:14 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.