It was 5 p.m. when my plane touched down onto the small airstrip at Tokunoshima, an island in Kagoshima Prefecture that, in its climate and fauna, bears a strong resemblance to nearby Okinawa.
The warm subtropical air asserts itself the moment you leave the plane, and the tropical analogy is reinforced by the greenery of cycads, the aerial roots of the ficus tree, the pineapple-like pandanus, which grow along beaches as white as coconut powder, and by the roadside clumps of bougainvillea and wild hibiscus. But the sultry climate and flora belie Tokunoshima's other side, with its rugged, undeveloped coastline and an equally rugged male population, who pit hulking bovines against each other in the island's six bullrings.
The friendly woman at the airport information counter was quick to respond when I mentioned I needed a scooter to get to a bullfight that day. Calling the rental shop, the machine was delivered and papers signed within 15 minutes.