Bluefin Tuna Sells for Historic Price of $3.2 million at Tokyo Auction
A bulky Pacific bluefin tuna made headlines at the Tokyo's Toyosu fish market this Monday, securing a unprecedented bid of 510.3 million yen (3.2 million US dollars; £2.4m) during the market's opening auction of the new year.
The successful bid for the 243-kilogram fish came from the company of a well-known sushi restaurant group, which manages locations throughout Japan and overseas.
"The year's tuna heralds good luck," commented the entrepreneur, a familiar bidder at the annual new year's auction.
Known as the Tuna Tycoon, this entrepreneur is noted for submitting substantial bids for bluefin tuna at these high-profile new year auctions.
Auction Surprise and Historic Past
Following the auction, the successful bidder admitted to reporters that he was "astonished at the final price," noting, "I expected we would be able to acquire it a little cheaper, but the price soared rapidly."
This new purchase surpasses his own historic purchases:
- He paid 56.5 million yen back in 2012.
- He bid 155 million yen in 2013.
- In 2019, he purchased a tuna for 333.6 million yen (2.1 million dollars).
Even after once remarking that he thought he "bid too high," he has now gone on to surpass his own record yet again.
A Tradition of Exorbitant Bids
The first auction at the Tokyo fish market is traditionally associated with exorbitant prices. In the prior year, the first tuna was purchased for 207 million yen by a different culinary group, which indicated the fish would be available at its locations nationwide.
The intense activity at the fish market during these pre-dawn auctions has transformed into a major tourist attraction in Tokyo. Monday's auction, which began around 05:00 local time, was equally bustling.
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The multi-million-dollar tuna was shortly thereafter sliced up for diners at the entrepreneur's sushi restaurants immediately after the auction ended.
"I feel like I've started the year in a good way after eating something so fortune-bringing as the year gets underway," said one happy customer.