Tourists welcome again at Tsukiji tuna auctions

BY RIKA NEMOTO, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2009/1/12

A temporary ban on visitors to early morning tuna auctions at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market will end, allowing the public to again observe the auctions which have become a popular attraction for foreign tourists from Jan. 19.

The market's auction floor has been off-limits since Dec. 15 because of congestion at the market during the busy year-end period, but also partly in response to bad behavior from some visitors.

The Tokyo metropolitan government, which manages the market in Chuo Ward, had tentatively set the ban through Saturday. Officials had been discussing with market workers whether to reopen the tuna auction floor.

Partly due to a number of accidents involving vehicles and tourists, many wholesalers and middle traders wanted the ban maintained, arguing that "lay people shouldn't be where professionals work."

Many were concerned about visitors' bad manners, such as touching tuna or using camera flashes while taking photographs.

On the other hand, some wholesalers and middle traders were in favor of making the market's wholesale area open again, with some acknowledging that many visitors had traveled long distances to see the market, while others were worried that the market would "no longer be lively if people stop visiting."

Before the ban, as many as 500 people a day, including foreign tourists, visited the market to observe tuna auctions, which start around 5:30 a.m.

At a time when the number of foreign tourists visiting the country is in decline because of the yen's appreciation, the Tokyo government decided to lift the ban and again offer a space on the tuna auction floor for the public to watch.

At the entrance of the market, which is officially called the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, information on the dos and don'ts for visitors will be posted in four languages.

Security guards will be deployed on the auction floor, where leaflets on acceptable behavior will be distributed at its entrance.

If the visitors' area is overcrowded, the number of people allowed in will be limited temporarily, according to metropolitan government officials.(IHT/Asahi: January 12,2009)