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TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo's famous Tsukiji market, the biggest fish market in the world and a major tourist attraction, held its latest tuna auction Saturday before a controversial move to a new site next week.
A wholesaler checks the quality of the fresh tuna presented at the last tuna auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market before moving to the Toyosu New Market in Tokyo, Japan on October 6, 2018. REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
Hundreds of fishmongers pack their bags and prepare to leave Tsukiji for a new $ 5 billion market, which will open Thursday on reclaimed land farther away from central Tokyo.
The most expensive fish – a tuna of 162 kg (357.15 lbs) – is sold 4.3 million yen ($ 37,818) at the auction which held early on the morning, announced Kyodo News. The business in Tsukiji officially ended at noon.
"I am very grateful and happy that we have been able to continue our activities unhindered until today. I want to thank Tsukiji from the bottom of my heart, "Hiroyasu Itoh, president of the Seafood Wholesalers Association, told the press.
The 83-year-old Tsukiji Market has attracted tens of thousands of visitors a year in its maze of exotic fish and fresh sushi stalls. But it had become run down and unhealthy, city officials said when planning the move to a new site in Toyosu, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay.
A survey conducted by a group opposed to the move revealed that more than 80% of Tsukiji fish merchants were opposed to the move to Toyosu.
Takeshi Ohashi, a 44-year-old Tsukiji worker, went to the market with his wife to say goodbye.
"I am sad to see Tsukiji close, but I can not wait to see what the land will be used for after that and how Tokyo will develop in the future," Ohashi said.
The former Tsukiji site will provide temporary parking for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and eventually become a tourist center.
(Click on reut.rs/2O0Fph1 for a photo report of the Tsukiji market)
Report by Masashi Kato; Written by Daniel Leussink; Edited by Darren Schuettler
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