In another sign that life in Japan is returning to normal, the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on July 26 started allowing visitors back into its famed tuna auctions, after months of being kept out due to damaged buildings caused by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
In another sign that life in Japan is returning to normal, the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on July 26 started allowing visitors back into its famed tuna auctions, after months of being kept out due to damaged buildings caused by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
About 30 foreign tourists waited outside the doors before registration began at 5 a.m.
When the auctions kicked off at 5:30 a.m. with the ringing of a bell, the fascinated visitors surged in, cameras in hand.
Rodney Duvra, 25, who since April has been teaching English at a junior high school in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, said he was excited to feel the compelling power of the auctions.
Duvra said he wants to tell his family back in the United States that Japan remains vibrant.
A female British tourist added that she was pleased to be able to see so many tuna and was happy that she had come, although some friends had been worried about her trip to Japan.
The tuna auction had only 77 visitors on July 26, which fell short of the maximum capacity of 120.
"We wish to advertise ourselves to have a lot of people, both in Japan and abroad, to come and see how Tsukiji remains a lively place," said Dai Matsumura, deputy head of the Tsukiji Market. "I hope that will help to revitalize Japan as a whole."