# Tokunoshima > A farming island in the Amami group, south of Amami-Oshima, split between three towns and known across Japan for its bullfights. Two blocks of mountain forest, about a tenth of the island, are inscribed as part of the World Natural Heritage site Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island. The Amami rabbit lives there, and the main forest road for night viewing is gated: you go with a certified guide. - Prefecture: Kagoshima - Type: Island - Address: Tokunoshima, Kagoshima, Japan - Official site: https://www.tokunoshima-kanko.com/ Tokunoshima is a farming island first: sugar cane on the flat land, small towns on the coast, and three municipalities (Tokunoshima, Amagi and Isen) sharing about 248 square kilometres. Its name sits in the title of the World Natural Heritage site inscribed in 2021, but the inscribed land is only two blocks of mountain forest: one around Amagi-dake (533 m) in the north and a larger one running from Inokawa-dake (645 m) to Inutabu-dake (417 m) in the centre and south, together about 2,500 hectares, roughly a tenth of the island. Most of what you drive through is fields and villages. The forest is dense subtropical evergreen woodland, and the animals are why it was listed. The Amami rabbit, a dark, short-eared rabbit found only here and on Amami-Oshima, comes out at night, as does a ground gecko found nowhere but Tokunoshima. The obvious place to look is the Yamakubiri forest road, and it is gated: since July 2019 the road has been locked to private cars, and night viewing is only on paid tours with a certified Amami Islands eco-tour guide, at most ten people a tour and three or four tours a night. Book ahead. By day, the Tokunoshima World Heritage Conservation Center in Kedoku, opened in December 2024, explains the forest and its animals, and entry is free. The other thing people come for is bullfighting, togyu: two bulls pushing head to head, no matador. Around 20 tournaments are held a year, and the three that decide the island champion fall in January, May and October. On the south-west tip, Inutabu Cape has a memorial to the battleship Yamato, sunk off Kyushu in 1945. Plan for a car. There is no train, buses are infrequent, and the forest areas, the bullrings and the capes are spread round the island. ## FAQ ### Is the whole island World Heritage? No. The island's name is in the title of the World Natural Heritage site, but only two areas of mountain forest are inscribed: around Amagi-dake in the north (about 790 hectares) and from Inokawa-dake to Inutabu-dake in the centre and south (about 1,720 hectares). Together that is roughly a tenth of the island, with a buffer zone around each. Towns, farmland and beaches are outside it. ### Can I drive into the forest at night to look for Amami rabbits? Not on the Yamakubiri forest road, the usual viewing route. Its gates have been locked to private cars since 1 July 2019, and night viewing there is only on paid tours led by a certified Amami Islands eco-tour guide, limited to ten people a tour and three tours a night in summer, four in winter. On other roads, drive slowly: rabbits and other animals are hit by cars. ### When can I see a bullfight on Tokunoshima? Around 20 tournaments are held a year in the island's bullrings. The three all-island tournaments, where the champion title is decided, are in January (New Year), May and October, hosted in turn by the three towns. Dates and venues vary, so check with the Tokunoshima tourism federation or the bullfighting association (0997-83-0731) before you plan around one. --- Source: Tokunoshima — Japan Voyage