Step inside the biggest seafood market in the world, where big tuna are auctioned off for as much as $1 million

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japan fish market bid won tuna

Reuters/Reuters Staff

This year's auctioned tuna was 440 pounds.

Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market is the biggest seafood market in the world, in addition to being one of the largest wholesale markets of any kind to exist.

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The market has been a favorite for both visitors and locals for the last eight decades, thanks in part to its longstanding tradition of auctioning off huge tunas to celebrate the New Year.

Bidders will put in serious amounts of cash to try and get the first fish of the year, some of which have been sold for over $1 million.

But this year's auction was the last that will take place in the market's current location - the massive indoor portion of Tsukiji will be moving to another location in Tokyo, ending nearly a century of tradition. It's expected to close sometime this year.

Let's take a step inside to explore what the market was like at its busiest.

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