Giant bluefin tuna sells for $3.2mn at Tokyo’s Toyosu market
A giant bluefin tuna fetched a record 510.3 million yen ($3.2 million) at the year’s first auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market on Monday, Kyodo reports.
The 243-kilogram tuna, caught off Oma in Aomori Prefecture, was purchased by Kiyomura Corp., operator of the popular sushi chain Sushizanmai. The fish will be cut at the chain’s Tsukiji head branch before being distributed to restaurants nationwide. Despite the record-breaking bid, the company announced it will serve the tuna at its usual customer prices.
According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, this year’s winning bid marks the highest since records began in 1999, surpassing the previous record of 333.6 million yen in 2019, the first New Year auction held at Toyosu after the relocation from the iconic Tsukiji market.
Monday’s auction began at 5:10 a.m., with rows of tuna displayed and lively exchanges between bidders and sellers. The event also drew crowds of foreign tourists eager to witness the annual event.
Spending big at the first auction of the year is considered a symbol of good fortune and a valuable marketing opportunity for restaurants.
Bid prices have recovered in recent years after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The top bids stood at just 36 million yen in 2023, rising to 114.2 million yen in 2024 and 207 million yen in 2025 before this year’s record-setting sale.
