Jakarta – A buyer secured a tuna at Tokyo’s fish market auction for 207 million yen (approximately IDR 20.5 billion). The size of the auctioned tuna was as large as a motorcycle.
According to BBC, Wednesday (January 8, 2025), the auction was won by Onodera Group, with the tuna weighing 276 kg on January 5. The fish will be served at Michelin-starred restaurant Ginza Onodera and Nadaman restaurants nationwide.
“The first tuna of the year is meant to bring good luck,” said Onodera official Shinji Nagao to reporters after the auction at Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo.
Nagao expressed hope that people would enjoy eating this tuna, which was caught in the Aomori region of northern Japan.
“Our hope is for people to enjoy this and have an extraordinary year,” he added.
The group has paid the highest price in the Tuna ichiban auction for five consecutive years. Last year, they spent 114 million yen (approximately IDR 11.7 billion) on the top tuna.
However, the highest recorded auction price occurred in 2019, with a 278-kg bluefin tuna sold for 333.6 million yen (approximately IDR 34 billion). This record was set by Japan’s “Tuna King” and sushi restaurant owner, Kiyoshi Kimura.
The Toyosu fish market, known as the largest fish market in the world, is famous for its daily pre-dawn tuna auctions.
This time, tuna wasn’t the only catch sold at astonishing prices. Hokkaido sea urchins were also sold at a record-breaking price of 7 million yen (approximately IDR 718 million).
