Tokunoshima's bullfighting is not the Spanish kind. The bulls fight each other, not a human opponent, and the match ends when one bull disengages and retreats. The goal is to demonstrate dominance, not to harm. The bulls are expensive, carefully trained, and deeply valued by their owners. The island's relationship to bullfighting is total — it is not a tourist attraction that was developed for visitors but a cultural institution that has been part of island life for as long as anyone can trace. The crowds at major tournaments are loud, emotionally involved, and familiar with the bulls and their histories in ways that spectators at tourist bullfighting demonstrations are not. Owners shout their bulls' names. People cry when a beloved animal loses. Several tournaments are held each year on Tokunoshima, and visitors are welcome at the public venues. Getting to Tokunoshima requires either a flight from Kagoshima or Amami Oshima, or a long ferry journey. This difficulty of access is part of what has preserved the culture. The island is worth visiting for the bullfighting season; it is also worth visiting for the coral reefs, the turtles, and the particular pace of an Amami island that has not organized itself around tourism.