276kg bluefin tuna sold at Tokyo market for $1.3 million

On Sunday, January 5, the traditional first auction took place at the Toyosu Wholesale Fish Market in Tokyo. The record 276-kilogram bluefin tuna was sold for 207 million yen (approximately $1.3 million), Kyodo News reported.

The 2019 record was not broken. Then the carcass was sold for 333 million yen, which amounted to $3.1 million at the exchange rate at that time.

The high price at the first auction is perceived by the Japanese as a good omen: the higher the price for the most expensive tuna, the more successful the year will be for the country’s economy.

Tuna auctions at Tsukiji and Toyosu markets are a colorful spectacle. For a long time, travel companies have included them with great success in the list of places to visit for foreign tourists. However, due to the bad manners of foreigners, who not only photographed the process, but sometimes interfered with the auction, trying to get into the front rows and even touch the fish with their hands, the administration of the markets in December 2009 banned tourists from visiting the auction.