The most expensive giant bluefin tuna sold on the first day of business in 2024 at Tokyo's largest fish market went for 114.2 million yen (720,497 euros).
The auction of the first tuna of the year at Toyosu Fish Market is a 15-year tradition that has achieved astronomical prices for the best pieces with each edition.
The tuna weighed 238kg and was sold this Friday to Yamayuki, operator of the sushi chain Onodera Group, winning the best fish auction for four consecutive years.
The price of giant tuna was three times the amount offered last year, and the fourth highest since records began in 1999.
Precious tuna caught off the coast of Aomori Prefecture will be served at Onodera, a Michelin-starred sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo's luxury and gourmet culinary district.
Bidders at these auctions believe it is an opportunity to garner enormous media attention in acquiring an item considered “hatsumono,” or highly prized by Japanese consumers.
A record for tuna sales at the first auction of the year was set in 2019, with bluefin tuna fetching 333 million yen (about 2.3 million euros). At the time, it was the first auction held at Toyosu since the fish market was moved from the popular Tsukiji in central Tokyo in 2018 at the end of a controversial process that lasted 17 years.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”