Happy New Year 2026! how are you?
The annual New Year’s tradition of the first tuna auction took place at Tsukiji, where a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna from Oma, Aomori, was sold for a record-breaking 510.3 million yen.
◆ Bluefin tuna (honmaguro) is distinguished from other tuna species (such as southern bluefin, bigeye, yellowfin and others; there are six types of tuna caught in Japan). The differences lie in its size, superior fat quality (amount and taste of fatty tuna), rich umami flavor, and price.
Treated as the highest grade, it is characterized by the richness of its fatty tuna and intense umami. Known as the “black diamond” for its beautiful dark color, it is ideal for sushi and sashimi and is famous for fetching high prices at the first auction of the year.
This transaction price is approximately 1.5 times the previous record of 333.6 million yen set in 2019, the highest price since records began in 1999. Kiyomura, operator of the “Sushi Zanmai” chain with 46 locations nationwide, secured the top tuna bid for the first time in six years.
They reclaimed the honor after six years. President Kiyoshi Kimura (73), taking a breather after the big task, smiled and said in his characteristic deep voice, “There were so many good tuna lined up, I just couldn’t resist buying it.”
Though they had lost out to wholesalers “Yama-Kou” and the “Onodera Group” in the auction for the past five years, he revealed his reason for insisting on winning: “The first tuna is a symbol of good fortune. I want as many people as possible to eat it and gain energy.”
At around 5:10 AM, with temperatures at 3 degrees Celsius and breath visible as white clouds, the auction bell rang. Faced with the 243-kilogram giant, the sellers’ spirited voices began to fly.
Buyers, using hand signals called “teyari” to indicate the price per kilogram with their fingers, shouted “40!” “50!!” and successively won the bids.
In the blink of an eye, the price jumped to 2.1 million yen. Among market insiders, some murmured, “Sure, there’s the publicity effect, but isn’t this going too far?” The final price reached a staggering 510.3 million yen.
Regarding the deciding factor, President Kimura raved about the freshness, saying, “The shape and the fine marbling. The quality is probably good too.”
He couldn’t help but smile wryly at the result, which was about 1.5 times the previous record high of 333.6 million yen, remarking, “It just kept going up and up, oh my… It felt like riding a roller coaster.”
The premium tuna will be priced at around 10,000 to 12,000 kan (1 kan = 180 grams) and offered at regular prices across all stores nationwide. Calculated per kan, this equates to about ¥75,000, a price set knowing it will result in a loss.
They then held a dissection show at their “Sushi Zanmai Main Store” in Chuo Ward, promptly serving the fresh tuna to visiting customers.
“Sushi Zanmai is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This is our way of giving back to everyone,” he explained the reasoning.
He then declared loudly, quoting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s phrase that won last year’s Buzzword of the Year award: “Work, work, work, work, work.”
◆ Oma-produced Tuna According to the town’s tourism association official website, the fishing season runs from August to around January the following year, with autumn to winter being the peak season.
The Tsugaru Strait facing the town is fed by three major currents: the Kuroshio, Tsushima, and Kuril Currents. This convergence creates an environment rich in high-quality plankton, which in turn nourishes the tuna, resulting in exceptionally fatty and flavorful fish.
◆ When it comes to Oma-produced tuna, I recall the 1980s film “School of Fish.” Though it’s a film from about 40 years ago, I still cannot forget that profound, shocking emotion・・・
・・・the intensity of the sea men risking their lives, piloting small boats in the harsh northern seas, engaged in the solitary, brutal practice of single-pole tuna fishing in the Tsugaru Strait, and the passionate women who waited for them in silent devotion・・・
I have a clip from that film, so I’d like to share it here, however, the young man in this film is an apprentice fisherman, so there are two of them on board.
Thanks for visiting here, have a nice year 2026!
