The first auction of 2011 set the record high of maginificent tunas’ price
The First Auction(/初競り, “Hatsuseri” ) or the first trading of 2011 was held at fish, vegetable, and some other markets in Japan nationwide at dawn on this Jan.5th. The hatsuseri is one symbol of “the beginning of the trading of the year” in Japan.
At the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo,one of the most popular destinations among foreign tourists to Japan, a maginificent bluefin tuna was sold at 32.49 million yen(95,000 yen/kg) (≒$396,000, €296,618),the price of all time record high.
The splendid tuna weighs 342kg (752 lb), caught off Toi, a southern area in Hokkaido, a Japan’s northern island. For the first time the highest-price tuna was caught in an area other than Ohma area in Aomori pref.. The successful bidders were Ginza Kyubey(/銀座九兵衛)http://www.kyubey.jp/index_e.html,the most famous first rate sushi restaurant in Ginza Tokyo and Itamae Sushi(/板前寿司)http://www.itamae.co.jp/index.html, a sushi restaurant chain mainly developing in HongKong , Macao,and others. The two buyers jointly bought the tuna and shared it.
Ginza Kyubey is well known for that its first owner invented “Gunkan maki” style(/軍艦巻き, warship roll style of nigiri zushi) in1931, which is widely prevalent nowadays as one of the nigiri zushi(hand-formed sushi ) styles. Itamae Sushi is rapidly becoming popular as the number of people outside of Japan in Asia who love sushi as healthy food is increasing rapidly these days. That chain has successfully bidden the highest- price tunas at the hatsuseri four times in a row. 
As for the price to sell the tuna as “dishes” to the consumers, Ginza Kyubey will serve ohtoro(the fattest meat) and chuhtoro(medium-fatty meat) at 2,500 yen and akami(lean meat) at 800 yen per piece, while Itamae Sushi will serve ohtoro at 1,300 yen, chuhtoro at 900 yen, and akami at 500 yen per piece at four of its chain restaurants in Tokyo. 
Sushi, one of the symbolic items of the Japanese culture, now is completely accepted in the international community and the quality of the ingredients, the degree of refinement as a cuisine, and also the understanding level of the people in the world are all being enhanced.
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