The most expensive bluefin tuna ever sold is a 243 kg fish from Oma that went for 510.3 million yen, about $3.2 million, at the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Toyosu market on January 5, 2026. Every fish on this list was sold at the same ritual: the New Year auction in Tokyo, first at Tsukiji and since 2019 at Toyosu, where sushi chains pay a small fortune for the headlines and the good luck. Below are the ten highest prices ever paid for a single bluefin, counting down from #10 to the all-time record, as of November 2026.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 405 kg bluefin (¥36.45 million) | about $323,000 | January 2018 | Tsukiji market, Tokyo |
| 9 | 342 kg bluefin (¥32.49 million) | about $396,000 | January 2011 | Tsukiji market, Tokyo |
| 8 | 212 kg bluefin (¥74.2 million) | about $632,000 | January 2017 | Tsukiji market, Tokyo |
| 7 | 269 kg Oma bluefin (¥56.49 million) | about $736,000 | January 2012 | Tsukiji market, Tokyo |
| 6 | 238 kg Aomori bluefin (¥114.2 million) | about $790,000 | January 2024 | Toyosu market, Tokyo |
| 5 | 276 kg Oma bluefin (¥207 million) | about $1.3 million | January 2025 | Toyosu market, Tokyo |
| 4 | 222 kg bluefin (¥155.4 million) | about $1.76 million | January 2013 | Tsukiji market, Tokyo |
| 3 | 276 kg Oma bluefin (¥193.2 million) | about $1.8 million | January 2020 | Toyosu market, Tokyo |
| 2 | 278 kg bluefin (¥333.6 million) | about $3.1 million | January 2019 | Toyosu market, Tokyo |
| 1 | 243 kg Oma bluefin (¥510.3 million) | about $3.2 million | January 2026 | Toyosu market, Tokyo |
10. The 2018 Tsukiji farewell tuna: $323,000
The heaviest fish on this list is also one of the cheapest per kilo. At the last New Year auction held at the old Tsukiji market in January 2018, a 405 kg Pacific bluefin sold for ¥36.45 million, about $323,000. The buyer was the Onodera restaurant group, which handled the purchase with the wholesaler Yamayuki.
That works out to roughly ¥90,000 per kilo. Size alone does not win this auction. Buyers pay for fat content, color and the fishing ground, and a monster fish is harder to sell as premium sushi than a perfectly marbled smaller one. The same morning, the Sushi Zanmai chain picked up a 190 kg fish for ¥30.4 million.
How we valued it: price the 2018 Tsukiji opener fetched, turned into dollars with that week’s rate.
9. The 2011 record tuna: $396,000
Before the big money arrived, this was the fish that set the bar. In the first Tsukiji sale of January 2011, a 342 kg bluefin sold for ¥32.49 million, close to $400,000 at the time. It broke a record that had stood since 2001, when a 202 kg fish went for ¥20.2 million.
The winner was a joint bid from a Tokyo restaurant and a Hong Kong sushi operator, a sign of how far demand for top sushi had spread beyond Japan. The record lasted exactly one year before the bidding wars of the 2010s blew past it.
How we valued it: top bid of the 2011 opening sale, in dollars at the January 2011 exchange rate.
8. The 2017 Tsukiji tuna: $632,000
In January 2017 Kiyoshi Kimura, the president of Kiyomura Corp. and the face of the Sushi Zanmai chain, won the first auction for the sixth straight year. His 212 kg bluefin cost ¥74.2 million, about $632,000, or roughly ¥350,000 per kilo.
At the time it was the second highest bid ever seen at the New Year auction. It also came during the long delay over the move from Tsukiji to Toyosu, so the market was full of nostalgia and cameras. For Kimura, the purchase is advertising. Sushi Zanmai serves the fish to ordinary customers at regular menu prices, and the photo of him beside the tuna runs on news sites around the world for free.
How we valued it: 2017 opening hammer price in yen; dollar reports range from about $632,000 to $637,000 depending on the rate used.
7. The 2012 Oma tuna: $736,000
This is the sale that started the bidding wars. In January 2012 a 269 kg bluefin caught off Oma, in Aomori Prefecture, sold for ¥56.49 million, about $736,000. That was a record for the whole tuna and for the price per kilo, at about ¥210,000.
The buyer was Kimura again. He said he wanted to give Japan a lift after the March 2011 tsunami and a long economic slump. The previous record, set in 2011, was ¥32.49 million for a 342 kg fish, #9 on this list. In one year the top price jumped by more than 70 percent, and the New Year tuna turned from a trade custom into a national spectacle.
How we valued it: yen price from the first Tsukiji sale of 2012, as converted in reports that week.
6. The 2024 Aomori tuna: $790,000
Prices came back in January 2024. A 238 kg fish landed in Aomori Prefecture sold for ¥114.2 million, about $790,000, at Toyosu. Yamayuki and Onodera Group won for the fourth year running.
The bid was more than triple the 2023 winner, which fetched ¥36.04 million, and the fourth highest since records of the opening auction began in 1999. Diners were back, foreign visitors were pouring into Japan on a weak yen, and the opening auction felt like a party again.
How we valued it: reported 2024 opening price in yen, in dollars at the January 2024 level.
5. The 2025 “motorbike” tuna: $1.3 million
Photographers loved this one because it was the size of a motorcycle. In January 2025 a 276 kg bluefin from Oma sold for ¥207 million, about $1.3 million. Yamayuki and Onodera Group took the top fish for the fifth year in a row.
At the time it was the second highest price ever paid at the opening auction. Onodera runs high end sushi counters in Tokyo, New York and other cities, and a famous fish is a story its chefs can tell at every seat. The price also showed how hot luxury dining in Japan had become, helped by record tourism.
How we valued it: yen total paid on the first trading day of 2025, using the dollar figure reported at the time.
4. The 2013 record tuna: $1.76 million
In January 2013 the New Year auction broke ¥100 million for the first time. Kiyomura Corp. paid ¥155.4 million for a 222 kg bluefin, about $1.76 million at the exchange rate of the day. That is about ¥700,000 per kilo.
The bid nearly tripled the 2012 record. It came at the height of the early bidding wars, when the opening auction had become a contest for national headlines. In the years that followed, the top price fell back sharply, which tells you the 2013 number was about pride and publicity, not the value of the meat.
How we valued it: 2013 opening price in yen; the dollar figure is an approximate conversion for January 2013.
3. The 2020 Toyosu tuna: $1.8 million
Kimura did it again in January 2020. His company paid ¥193.2 million, about $1.8 million, for a 276 kg fish from the waters off Oma. Like the 2013 fish, it cost about ¥700,000 per kilo.
It was the second auction at the new Toyosu market and, at the time, the second highest price on record. Weeks later the pandemic emptied Tokyo’s restaurants, and opening auction prices crashed for three years. That makes the 2020 fish the last big number before the long pause.
How we valued it: purchase price from the first Toyosu sale of 2020, translated at early January 2020 rates.
2. The 2019 Toyosu opener: $3.1 million
The first New Year auction at Toyosu, in January 2019, produced a price nobody expected. Kimura paid ¥333.6 million, about $3.1 million, for a 278 kg bluefin. It stood as the world record for a single tuna for seven years.
The timing explains most of it. It was the opening day of a brand new market after years of delays, and every buyer in the room wanted the first big headline from Toyosu. Kimura, who had lost the top prize to a rival group in 2018, came back to reclaim his title in style.
How we valued it: reported yen price from the Toyosu debut auction in 2019, with the dollar amount quoted on the sale date.
1. The 2026 Oma bluefin: $3.2 million
The current record was set on January 5, 2026. A 243 kg bluefin caught off Oma, in northern Japan, sold for ¥510.3 million at Toyosu, roughly $3.2 million. That is roughly ¥2.1 million per kilo, or about $6,000 per pound.
The buyer was Kiyomura Corp. Kimura beat his own 2019 record by more than half. He told reporters he had expected to stop at ¥300 million or ¥400 million, but the bidding shot past that before he noticed. As always, Sushi Zanmai served the fish at its normal menu prices.
The 2026 record also ended a five year winning streak for the Yamayuki and Onodera team. Its yen price is the highest ever, and even with a weak yen it edges out 2019 in dollar terms.
How we valued it: record yen price from January 5, 2026, with dollars at that day’s exchange rate.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- January 2026: a 243 kg Oma bluefin fetched ¥510.3 million, the highest price ever paid for a tuna.
- January 2025: a 276 kg tuna from Oma sold for ¥207 million, about $1.3 million, then the second highest opening price on record.
- Over two years the winning price rose more than fourfold, from ¥114.2 million in 2024 to ¥510.3 million in 2026.
What drives these prices
- The calendar, not the fish. All ten prices come from one morning each year. On any other day, a top bluefin sells for a small fraction of these sums.
- Publicity math. A record bid buys global news coverage that would cost far more as advertising. Restaurant groups treat it as a marketing budget.
- Rivalry. Most records came in years when two determined camps wanted the title. In quieter years the winning bid falls to a fraction of the peak.
- Origin. Oma, at the tip of Aomori Prefecture, supplies most of the record fish. Its line caught bluefin carry a brand premium of their own.
- Mood. Prices track the national mood: the 2012 rebound after the tsunami, the 2021 to 2023 pandemic slump and the 2026 tourism boom.
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What is the most expensive bluefin tuna ever sold?
A 243 kg bluefin caught off Oma sold for ¥510.3 million, about $3.2 million, at Tokyo’s Toyosu market on January 5, 2026.
Who bought the record tuna?
Kiyomura Corp., the company behind the Sushi Zanmai chain, run by Kiyoshi Kimura. He also bought the 2019 and 2020 record fish.
Why do sushi chains pay millions for one tuna?
The first auction of the year is a ritual tied to good luck, and the winner gets worldwide press. Buyers see the price as advertising, then serve the fish at normal menu prices.
What is the cheapest tuna on this list?
The 2018 winner, a 405 kg bluefin that sold for ¥36.45 million, about $323,000, at the last New Year auction held at Tsukiji.
How much does bluefin tuna normally cost?
Outside the New Year auction, wholesale prices for top grade bluefin usually run in the tens of dollars per kilo, rising for prized cuts and famous fishing grounds. We estimate a whole premium fish normally sells for thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
Where is the tuna auction held?
At the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, which replaced the old Tsukiji market in October 2018.
How we put this list together
We ranked each tuna by its verified winning bid at the New Year auction in Tokyo, compiling reported results in our internal valuation model and converting yen at the rate of the sale date. Prices are approximate and change with exchange rates over time.
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Last updated: November 2026.
