The new Toyosu market, which replaced the historic Tsukiji market in October 2018, is still in the running-in phase and has had to prove itself the regular bidders. The first auction of the year started on 5 January at 5:10 am, the bells announcing the opening of the famous tuna fish auction, where hundreds of specimens, both fresh and frozen, are displayed to potential buyers.
The fish at the stalls are sold one by one, the process like a visual and sound show which ordinary tourists wouldn’t be able to understand. The participants wear a cap, on which their name appears, and bid by an encrypted gesture that the auctioneer of the sale detects in the moment.
The star of the 5 January auction, a 278 kg bluefin tuna caught off the Amori prefecture, went for 2.7 million euros (£2.38 mil), a new record that equates to 10,000 euros (or £8,800) per kilogram. The buyer was Kiyoshi Kimura, the owner of the Sushi Zanmai restaurant chain. "It's a nice tuna, more expensive than expected," he said. Kimura isn’t any stranger of record prices, since he held the previous tuna record for a 222 kg tuna which sold in 2013.
One of the reasons for this high price, according to Kimura, is thanks to the fewer pieces available compared to those found on the Tsukiji market, coupled with the rarity of a tuna of this size and quality. Its acquisition of the day would have been cut before noon and turned into sushi, before being sold in the restaurant of the chain at its usual price.
"I hope that the first New Year sale that is generating immense interest will become a symbol for the year of enthusiasm in this Toyosu market," said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
Moving the market from Tsukiji's premises hasn’t been easy. After 80 years of history, and a stormy debate lasting several decades, the Tokyo municipality made the decision to close the site of Tsukiji, considered too insalubrious and obsolete to accommodate as many visitors as well as food products. Some vendors have long opposed this change, going so far as to resist at the inauguration of Toyosu, selling their cargo in front of the closed gates of the old site.
The auction of tuna had made the place famous, and although reserved for professionals, more and more tourists come to watch the show, enjoying the pleasure of wandering around this popular spot which is representative of Tokyo culture.
The Toyosu project was delayed several times due to possible contamination of the site's water and subsoil, as it’s built on the remains of a former gas plant. The government eventually agreed, although the problem continues to worry many.
Even if the elders can’t help but compare the new market with its predecessor, this record sale somewhat eased their fears.
Tuna is prized around the world, especially for its use in sushi, but experts have recently stated that due to increasing demand in recent years, the species is now in danger.
