Tuna the size of a motorbike was sold for IDR 20.9 billion to a sushi restaurant in Tokyo

JAKARTA – Owner r sushi restaurant in Tokyo paid 207 million yen (USD 1.3 million) or the equivalent of IDR 20.9 billion (at an exchange rate of IDR 16,139 per USD) for tuna fish a bluefin the size of a motorbike. The sale was the second highest price ever paid at an annual auction at the Toyosu Fish Market in the Japanese capital.

Offer from Onodera Group The winner of the auction said the tuna weighing 276 kg (608 pounds) would be served at the Michelin-starred Ginza Onodera restaurant, as well as Nadaman restaurants across the country.

“The first tuna is something that can bring good luck,” Onodera official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction, as reported by AFP.

Nagao added that he hoped people would eat the tuna – caught in the Aomori region of northern Japan – and “have a wonderful year”.

Onodera Group has paid the highest price in Ichiban Tuna auctions for five consecutive years. Last year, the company spent 114 million yen on top quality tuna.

The highest auction price to set a record started at 333.6 million yen in 2019 for a 278 kg bluefin. At that time, the winner of the auction was Japan’s “Tuna King” and sushi restaurant owner Kiyoshi Kimura.

Toyosu fish market, which opened in 1935, claims to be the largest fish market in the world, and is known for its daily pre-dawn tuna auctions.

But tuna wasn’t the only catch on offer on Sunday, with Hokkaido sea urchins also paying a record-breaking 7 million yen according to the Japan Times.

(acr)