BCN-17, 18 Record $3.1 million paid in New Year’s tuna auction at Japan’s new market

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Record $3.1 million paid in New Year’s tuna auction at Japan’s new market

TOKYO, Jan 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Japanese sushi entrepreneur paid a record
$3.1 million for a giant tuna Saturday as Tokyo’s new fish market, which
replaced the world-famous Tsukiji late last year, held its first pre-dawn New
Year’s auction.

Bidding stopped at a whopping 333.6 million yen for the enormous 278-
kilogramme (612-pound) fish — an endangered species — that was caught off
Japan’s northern coast.

Self-styled “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura paid the top price, which doubled
the previous record of 155 million yen also paid by him in 2013.

“It’s the best tuna. I was able to buy a delicious, super fresh tuna,” the
sushi restaurant chain owner proudly told reporters.

“The price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers
will eat this excellent tuna,” Kimura said after the auction.

Tsukiji — the world’s biggest fish market and a popular tourist attraction
in an area packed with restaurants and shops — moved in October to Toyosu, a
former gas plant a bit further east.

Opened in 1935, Tsukiji was best known for its pre-dawn daily auctions of
tuna, caught from all corners of the world, for use by everyone from
Michelin-star sushi chefs to ordinary grocery stores.

Wholesalers and sushi tycoons have been known to pay eye-watering prices
for the biggest and best fish, especially at the first auction of the new
year

Despite the relocation, the auction ritual remained intact: before dawn,
buyers in rubber boots were inspecting the quality of the giant fresh and
frozen tunas by examining the neatly cut tail end with flashlights and
rubbing slices between their fingers.

At 5:10 am, handbells rang to signal the auction was underway and the air
filled with the sound of auctioneers yelling prices at buyers, who raised
fingers to indicate interest.

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Kimura went head to head with a rival in a thrilling back-and-forth for the
prize tuna, with a scrum of spectators giving out a loud roar as the
auctioneer’s hammer came down after Kimura’s winning offer.

– ‘Black diamond’ –

Later in the day sushi chefs sliced up the giant fish with special knives
resembling Japanese swords at Kimura’s main restaurant just outside Tsukiji,
where demolition work is under way.

Hundreds of sushi lovers queued for a taste.

“I have come here every year to eat New Year sushi but this tuna is tastier
than ever,” Reiko Yamada, a 71-year-old housewife, told AFP.

Japan consumes a large portion of the global bluefin catch, a highly prized
sushi ingredient known as “kuro maguro” (black tuna) and dubbed the “black
diamond” by sushi connoisseurs because of its scarcity.

A single piece of “otoro”, or the fish’s fatty underbelly, can cost dozens
of dollars at high-end Tokyo restaurants.

The new market at Toyosu has already opened a balcony allowing visitors to
witness the organised pre-dawn chaos in an attempt to attract tourists who
previously visited Tsukiji.

“I sincerely hope this market will be loved by many people,” said Tokyo
governor Yuriko Koike, who attended the sale, wearing the white rubber boots
favoured by auctioneers.

The relocation of the market was a lengthy and controversial process.

Few would contest the fact that Tsukiji was past its prime, and there were
concerns about outdated fire regulations and hygiene controls.

In contrast, the new market, located around two kilometres to the east at
Toyosu, boasts state-of-the-art refrigeration facilities and is nearly twice
as big as Tsukiji.

But Toyosu is located on the site of a former gas plant and the soil was
found to be contaminated, forcing local authorities to spend millions of
dollars to clean it up and delaying the move.

BSS/AFP/SR/1950 HRS