“It's among the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna was auctioned for about 14 million Japanese yen ($118,000) at Tokyo's 80-year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, if all goes as planned, the tradition won't be quite the same. The world's biggest and most famous fish and seafood market is due to move in November to a massive complex further south in Tokyo Bay, making way for redevelopment of the prime slice of downtown real estate. The closure of the Tsukiji market will punctuate the end of the post-war era for many of the mom-and-pop shops just outside the main market that peddle a cornucopia of sea-related products, from dried squid and seaweed to whale bacon and caviar. The auction is typical of Japan's penchant for fresh starts at the beginning of the year – the first visit of the year to a shrine and the first dream of the year are other important firsts – and it's meant to set an auspicious precedent for the 12 months to come.

Sushi restaurateur Kiyoshi Kimura has prevailed in most of the recent new year auctions, and he did so again this year in the bidding for a 200-kilogram (440-pound) tuna. In 2013, a bidding war drove his record winning bid to 154.4 million yen (at today's exchange rates about $1.3 million) for a 222-kilogram (490-pound) fish. That drew complaints that prices had soared way out of line, and the winning price in 2014 was dramatically lower. Last year, a 180.4-kilogramme (380-pound) tuna caught off Japan's northern region of Aomori fetched a winning bid of 4.51 million yen ($37,480). Japanese eat about 80 percent of all bluefin tuna caught worldwide, and stocks of all three bluefin species – the Pacific, Southern and Atlantic – have fallen over the past 15 years amid overfishing.

But while the new year and daily tuna auctions are Tsukiji's best-known events, the market is about much more than just tuna. On a recent year-end day, shop owners in rubber boots and aprons were rushing to clean up and sell off the last of their inventory, as the last few hundred shoppers milled around hunting for bargains. Already, some shops outside the market have been razed and a new building that will house a smaller “outer market” is under construction. Conceptual drawings from the Tokyo city government show the 23-hectare (nearly 57-acre) market site that fronts the Sumida River's outlet into Tokyo Bay being transformed into an open waterfront park surrounded by greenery, with a wide shopping plaza and a passenger terminal for tourist ferries traversing the bay and river”. – Elaine Kurtenbach via The Associated Press



In this June 25, 2015 file photo, a dealer cuts tuna in Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. It's among the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, a huge, glistening tuna will be auctioned for a lot of money at Tokyo's 80-year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, if all goes as planned, the tradition won't be quite the same. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. It's among the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna was auctioned for about 14 million Japanese yen ($118,000) at Tokyo's 80-year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, if all goes as planned, the tradition won't be quite the same. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Prospective buyers inspects the quality of fin of a fresh tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Kiyoshi Kimura, second from left, president of Kiyomura Co., poses a bluefin tuna at his Sushi Zanmai restaurant near Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Workers from Kiyomura Co. unload a bluefin tuna from a cart at Sushi Zanmai restaurant near Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer pulls a frozen tuna during the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of fresh tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A child pretends to be a prospective buyer inspecting the quality of frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Prospective buyers inspect the quality of fresh tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. In one of the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals, early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna was auctioned for a lot of money at Tokyo's 80-year-old Tsukiji market. The world's biggest and most famous fish and seafood market is due to move in November to a massive new complex further south in Tokyo Bay. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer, right, makes a hand signal during the first frozen tuna auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





In this April 28, 2015 file photo, heads of tuna on a cart are carried by a fish dealer after the day's auction at Tsukiji Wholesale Market in Tokyo. In one of the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals, early on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, Tokyo's Tsukiji market will auction off with much fanfare a huge, glistening tuna, likely destined for one of the big sushi chains. If all goes as planned, it will be the last such auction at 80-year-old Tsukiji. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama/AP Photo)





In this December 31, 2015 file photo, fish store vendors sell fresh seafood to shoppers who look for ingredients for “osechi” or Japanese traditional New Year dishes, near Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. In one of the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals, early on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, Tokyo's Tsukiji market will auction off with much fanfare a huge, glistening tuna, likely destined for one of the big sushi chains. If all goes as planned, it will be the last such auction at 80-year-old Tsukiji. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)