"With all of them using flashes to take photos during the auction, this is causing serious trouble," said Ihei Sugita, who is in charge of visitor coordination at the Tsukiji market, one of the biggest fish markets in the world.
"At a place that auctions several hundred tunas in a day, this is affecting our business." Crowded and noisy, with buggies and forklifts hurtling across slippery floors past huge slabs of tuna and exotic sea creatures, Tsukiji has long been a tourist magnet -- to the dismay of some traders, who find that the onlookers interrupt their work.
Sugita said that there are at least 20 to 30 visitors a day watching the auction, many of whom are from the United States, China, and Australia, and that they touch the fish and take photos when they find tuna imported from their home countries.
From April 1, tourists will only be able to watch frozen tuna auctions from a designated area and the hours will be restricted from 5 a.m. (2000 GMT) to 6:15 a.m. (2115 GMT), he said.
The new time limit is also meant to prevent visitors from lingering around after the auction and blocking the delivery of the purchased tuna to stores, Sugita added.
"We do feel bad to completely turn them down since they are visiting all the way from abroad, so that's why we are keeping this window of time that will affect us the least," he said.
The market, where 2 billion yen ($20 million) worth of fish and vegetables are traded on any given day, has been a top tourist destination for foreigners. Up to 50,000 foreign visitors come to the market every year, Sugita said.
Auctions for frozen tuna in particular are popular, with traders examining the fish with flashlights and their fingers before battling with fellow traders for the best catch. One fish can be sold for as much as 2 million yen.
