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.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.