All about Kagoshima　-sightseeing, accommodations, shopping, gourmet, hot spring -

~Food vendors village offers carefully prepared Kagoshima food & shochu liquor~

For visitors who want to enjoy authentic Kagoshima cuisine at reasonable prices we recommend the Yataimura, a miniature gourmet district that features a shochu specialty shop and 25 unique food stands selling fresh seafood, Kurobuta Berkshire pork, ramen, and more. The Yataimura, which opened April 26, invites you in with a distinctly Japanese look reminiscent of the good old days.

Website: http://www.kagoshima-gourmet.jp/
Address: 6-4 Chuo-cho, Kagoshima City (near Kagoshima Chuo Station)
Telephone: +81-99-255-1588

See the Annular Eclipse in Kagoshima May 21, 2012

A solar eclipse is the phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth and the sun is partially or completely hidden by the moon. Including partial eclipses, this astronomical marvel occurs all around the world several times a year. However, not every eclipse is a total eclipse or an annular eclipse. Total and annular eclipses can only be seen from an extremely narrow land area, so for any given point on the earth's surface a total eclipse or an annular eclipse is indeed a very rare sight.

On May 21, 2012, such an annular eclipse will occur in Japan. In addition to the partial eclipse visible all over the country, the annular eclipse can be viewed from a wide area including southern Kyushu, southern Shikoku, southern Kinki Region, southern Chubu Region, and Kanto Region.

Like a total eclipse, corona and solar prominence can often be seen during an annular eclipse. It does not become dark enough to see the stars, but the sun appears as a bright ring (or annulus) surrounding the outline of the moon and the sky darkens slightly as on a cloudy day.

This is the first annular eclipse visible on Japanese land since the September 23, 1987 eclipse which appeared over the main island of Okinawa. The next will not occur for 18 years until the June 1, 2030 eclipse in Hokkaido. This could be called a very rare phenomenon. 

The May 21 eclipse can be seen from a belt-shaped portion of the　Earth's surface called the "central track". This will encompass southern Kyushu, most of Shikoku, and an area of Honshu from the Kii Peninsula to the Kanto environs. Even outside of that geographic belt, a partial eclipse can be seen anywhere in Japan.

Inside the central track, the sun will appear in the shape of a glowing ring around the moon's dark outline before and after the maximum eclipse. The closer you are to the central track, the more central the moon's path will be across the sun. From locations along the edge of the track, the moon will be seen to pass over one section of the sun away from the center.

Tokyo, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Kochi, and Kagoshima are all located inside this central track.

Furthermore, regions on the outer edge of the track will see a partial eclipse. The closer you are to the central track the more the sun will be covered by the moon during the eclipse.

The degree of eclipse, in other words the "eclipse magnitude" is represented numerically as follows. Eclipse magnitude 0.1 means that the moon covers 10% of the sun's diameter. In areas outside the track the maximum eclipse magnitude is 0.929 at Sendai, 0.901 at Naha, and 0.840 at Sapporo a little farther away.

The chart below shows the beginning time (1^st contact), the maximum, and end (4^th contact) at some main locations for viewing the solar eclipse.

SOURCE：National Astronomical Observatory of Japan official website

Within Kagoshima Prefecture the eclipse can be seen from places like Kagoshima Municipal Science Hall, Ibusuki、Kokubu in Kirishima City or islands such as Tanegashima, Yakushima, and Amami Oshima.

Please enjoy this rare astronomical event in Kagoshima!!

REFERENCE： Sendai Space Hall, Satsumasendai City

http://sendaiuchukan.jp/  (Japanese only)

http://sendaiuchukan.jp/event/news/2012eclipse/2012eclipse-K.html　(Japanese only)