Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market, also the world's largest fish market, held its last New Year's auction on Friday before it relocates to a different part of Tokyo ahead of construction for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
This year the owner of an international sushi restaurant shelled out more than $300,000 for the first tuna auction of the year - a prime bluefin tuna. The annual New Year's auction is seen as auspicious and a good chance for the winning bidder to gain publicity.
Hiroshi Onodera, the president of LEOC Co. Ltd which owns the "Ginza Onodera" restaurant chain, paid 36.45 million yen for a 405kg premium Pacific bluefin tuna - around 90,000 yen per kg. Onodera said he was very happy with the result as it was the final "first NewYear"'s auction at the current location.
The 80-year-old Tsukiji market is set to move from its current site, which is part of Tokyo's most prime real estate to the man-made island of Toyosu 2 km away in October. The plan had been pushed back by more than a year after concerns emerged about toxic pollution at its new home.