According to Japanese tradition, it is auspicious to splurge at the first auction of the New Year and this year was even more sentimental as it marked the last New Year auction at Tsukiji, the famous fish market in Tokyo that will be torn down this year.
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Its owner, the Tokyo metropolitan government, had meant to move it two decades ago to a new location a few miles to the south in Tokyo Bay.
The auction hit global headlines in 2013 when a record 154.4 million yen ($1.76 million) was paid for a 489-pound tuna by sushi restaurateur Kiyoshi Kimura.
A bluefin tuna fetched 14 million yen (about $117,000), or 70,000 yen per kilogram, at the auction.
The whale of a fish was caught off Aomori prefecture, at the northern tip of the Japanese island of Honshu.
“It got a bit pricey because we had some competition”, said Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Corp., who placed the winning bid.
Tsukiji’s first auction of the year is market by inflated bids, as buyers compete for the prestige of securing the first big tuna of the year.
“We shall give our gratitude to Tsukiji and do our best for the year”.
Pre-auction examination. (EPA/Franck Robichon)A wholesaler inspects frozen tuna before the first auction of the year.
The current Tsukiji market will be replaced by a waterfront park, shopping plaza and ferry passenger terminal.
Market move slowed by serious snag.. But the shift was delayed for years due to toxins found in the soil at the new location, the former site of a coal gasification plant run by Tokyo Gas. In November, the market will relocate to the city’s Toyosu district, in anticipation of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Cleanup of the tainted site required the removal and replacement of 2 meters (6 feet) of topsoil, construction of retaining walls, pumping out of polluted ground water and injection of fresh water. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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