Welcome to the Japan-China Solar Eclipse Trip 2009!! A dream since I was 16 years old, my first solar eclipse as well as the longest solar eclipse in 500 years... The trip was surrounded by mystery and intrigue - the ancient Chinese believed that solar eclipses occur when a legendary celestial dragon devours the Sun, while Hindu Mythology also believes the sun gets eaten during a solar eclipse and go to great lengths to ensure a baby is not born during totality! Accompanying my on my quest to see a solar eclipse were Ganesh (of course!) and Xin....

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Day 1 & 2

July 21-22, 2009

It was almost 40 degrees Celsius when my plane landed in China... 2 of Xin's uncles as well as Xin turned up at the airport to greet me! I was astounded :-) I'm not sure I would be interested in leaving the house to pick up someone I'd never met from the airport in 40 degrees! I was treated to this sort of generosity for the entire 24 hour stay... We headed back to Xin's aunt and uncle's place - an exquisite apartment in a 'community' block - this is how everyone lives in China as a traditional Australian style townhouse costs upwards of 4 million dollars, even out in the suburbs. After a much needed shower we were taken out for an incredible banquet of Chinese dishes. Each group of people had their own private room in the restaurant which was a sweet touch. My favourites had to be the 'vegetable chicken' (vegetables seasoned to taste like chicken) or the mushroom and spinach soup in what looked like a clear jelly but turned out to be corn flour!

After dinner we were taken out to see the eastern Shanghai lights from west side of the Yangtze river that runs through Shanghai... For those who think traffic is bad on the Monash after work, bear in mind that peak hour in Shanghai lasts from 4pm until 1am every single day, with 8000 new cars on the roads each month and no new infrastructure the problem is only getting worse! Even a quick look at the lights and a short stop at the supermarket meant we weren't home until after 1am.

It was an early start the next day at around 4:30am to ensure we made it to Yanguan before the traffic started to build up.... My heart started to sink as I looked at the complete white out that was the weather but we battled on to the coast where both the eclipse and a tidal surge were due to occur. It was a long hot sticky wait... but just moments before the eclipse was due the sky opened up just around the sun and we were able to view the eclipse in all its splendour. As totality approached the crowds became restless, babies began to cry and as darkness closed in people began to pray... Eerie, hot, calm and crowded all at the same time, as soon as the eclipse was over the cloud cover settled in for the day. It was a few more hours until the tidal surge which turned out to be a bit more like a wave than a tidal surge...

From there it was straight on to the airport, with traffic control expertly dealt out by Xin's aunt despite a few moments of panic when the freeways shut down and we thought we were going to miss our flight! A few hours later and we were at Nagoya airport, taking the efficient train into town to meet up with Ganesh at the Ryokan!

Days 3 & 4

July 23-24, 2009

Day 3

• Pointing at strange Japanese menu items for breakkie (no english!)
• Took the Shikansen to Kyoto
• Checked out the local temples, shops and the Tokyo Tower
• Walked down the river and had dinner in the Geisha area
• Delicious omlettes and funny statues!

• An early start, renting bicycles and heading to the station for a traditional japanese breakfast!
• Rode to the golden temple
• Back past the Imperial Palace and Residences (they look liked the place the last sumarai was filmed!)
• Toured Himeji castle
• Toured the fresh food markets
• Caught the local trains to Osaka
• Traditional fried and dipped Japanese dinner

Day 5

July 25, 2009

Day 5

• Visited the umeda sky tower
• Headed past the electronics and blue ray discs to the Liberty Osaka Human Rights museum
• Checked out the organic building and America Mura as well as the Apple Store
• Watched the street and water parades for the Osaka festival to keep away plague and disease and bring peace to Osaka (including laughing at the monks with chairs who took breaks mid parade, the personal horse poop cleaners and the warriors who lost control of their float!)
• Delicious dinner and nightlife in Minimia
• Jumped on the night bus to Shizouka

Days 6 & 7

July 26 & 27, 2009

Day 6

• Picked up by Mochan (Couch surfing host) at Shimizu station and headed back to his place to see almost 30 other couch surfers!
• Piled into Mochan's mini van to check out the Mt Fuji viewing spot
• Toured a Sake factory
• Visited a magnificent waterfall
• Had lunch at a lake at the base of Mt Fuji (in the rain!)
• Dropped off at the 5th station of Mt Fuji to prepare for the night climb
• Started climbing at 10pm with torches
• Weather slowly deteriorated as we climbed up, started to rain, hail, strong winds and freezing weather!

• Continued to climb (very crowded!!) to reach the top at 4:45am - unfortunately no sun!
• Umut, Xin and others continue to shiver at the top through the massive storm and the hot noodles!
• Post post cards from the top of Mt Fuji and then head back down through the rain
• Arrive at the bottom to be picked up by Mochan
• A crowded house at Mochan's means the people who are staying head off to an Onsen
• A rather strange cultural experience - never been naked before in front of so many people!
• Head back to Mochan's, sort out washing, have a nap and enjoy some dinner and a chat about the project and Mochan
• A big long sleep after 2 long days!

Days 8 - 11

July 28 - July 31, 2009

Day 8

• Wake up at Mochan's and after a yummy breakfast head off on the train to Tokyo
• Head to Khaosan Ninja and explore the surroundings - including very cheap japanese food at 7-11!
• Play darts and the automated dart boards
• Have an early night to go to the fish market the next day

• Explore the Tsjuki fish market with a 4am start in the morning!
• Walk through the Imperial Palace grounds
• Head to the digital island (Segamega world, Fake statue of liberty, Science and Innovation museum including 3D printing!)
• Take the monorail tour of the digital island including the site for the 2016 Olympic Village

• Shopping in Aakasuka, exploring the temples and having our fortunes told!
• Playing Pachinko, arcade games and photos
• Checked out the Sony building and the Ginza (no luck with the bees!)
• Self cooked dinner and movies in the hotel

• Straight off to Disneyland
• Spent all day at Disneyland!!
• Lauren takes the overnight bus to Nagoya while Ganesh stays at the hotel for another day in Tokyo!