日本筑地市場的拍賣盛況

The fishing industry in Japan is among the largest in the world， and Tsukiji Market is a major 1）hub for this multi-billion-dollar industry. Over the years， the market has attracted millions of tourists， even though it is not primarily a tourist center.

Tourist： It’s funny because it doesn’t seems [sic] like there is a lot of fight between the 2）bidders. Only one or two people， they raise the price. And that’s it. It goes really fast.

He’s referring to the star attraction at the market， a fascinating event that takes place， without fail， at 5：30 every morning， an event for which visitors wake up at 4：00 am. The location—the auction hall. Tsukiji market has seven auction halls and five tuna auction halls that conduct the business of selling its produce to the intermediate 3）wholesalers. This area is the heart of the market and everything would 4）grind to a halt if the auction didn’t take place. The experience of being inside the hall is something tourists take back with them as one of the most amazing and unforgettable memories of Japan. Not surprisingly， some have even compared the sights and sounds to a kind of visual symphony that catches the essence of Japanese culture and social life.

The economics of the morning’s auction at Tsukiji Market determine the economics of the business for the rest of the country， and for the world， in terms of demand， supply and price. So when the price of your regular piece of sushi goes up， it’s because the price has gone up in these auction halls.

The magic hour at the market is 5：30 am. So at 10：00 pm the night before， tons of seafood， particularly frozen tuna， start arriving by ship， truck and plane from all over the world. By 3：00 am， the crates will be opened and the seafood displayed in the auction for the intermediate wholesalers. Every morning， six separate auctions for fish are held at the same time in order to clear the tremendous amount of stock. The tuna auction is the most exciting of all， not just because of the sheer speed at which it takes place， but because of the high value and risks involved in the bidding process.

This is a typical morning at the tuna auction hall. About a thousand tuna from all over the world are lined up. At 5：30 5）sharp， the auction starts on all five platforms. This is the 6）auctioneer， and these are the buyers， the intermediate wholesalers. They use hand signs to indicate the price per kilo. The tuna will go to the highest bidder. It takes an average of six seconds to auction one tuna. The interaction between the auctioneer and buyers in such a short time has always been a fascinating talking point among observers.

The auction starts. And it’s done. Let’s take another look. Ten is the number given to the tuna. The auctioneer invites buyers to name the price. He calls out the price indicated by the buyer’s hand sign. Thumb up means six， open palm means five. The auctioneer has to read many people’s signs at once. Seeing that it won’t go beyond 8，500， the auctioneer calls out the buyer’s company name， and the auction ends.

The auction started at 5：30， and is over in less than 20 minutes. In a mere 20 minutes， 1，000 pieces of tuna fish are sold and gone. This speed， this scale， is what makes Tsukiji Market one of the most fascinating places to visit in the world.

日本的漁業(yè)規(guī)模之大是全世界數(shù)一數(shù)二的，而筑地市場正是這個數(shù)十億美元產(chǎn)業(yè)的重要樞紐。多年來，即使市場本來并不是一個旅游景點，它仍吸引著數(shù)百萬游客前來參觀。

游客：很有趣，因為競價者之間的競投并不多，只有一兩個人叫價，就是這樣，這個過程進行得很快。

這位游客所講的正是市場最受歡迎的場景，這引人入勝的一幕風雨不改，每天早晨五點半上演。游客為了目睹這場景，甘愿在清晨四點就起床。它在筑地市場的拍賣場上演。筑地市場共有七個拍賣場和五個金槍魚拍賣場，中間批發(fā)商會在拍賣場互相競投出價，買下看中的產(chǎn)品。拍賣場是市場的心臟，如果沒有進行拍賣，那么所有的營業(yè)活動都無法繼續(xù)下去。在拍賣場的所見所聞令游客們大開眼界，更是到日本旅游最難忘的經(jīng)歷之一。一些游客甚至將拍賣場的熱鬧景況比喻為一曲看得見的交響樂，它將日本文化和社會生活的精髓表露無遺。

筑地市場清晨拍賣的情況對全國乃至全球海鮮產(chǎn)業(yè)的供求及價格有決定性的影響。如果你去吃壽司的時候發(fā)現(xiàn)價格比平常貴，這是因為筑地市場的清晨拍賣價有所上升。

筑地市場最重要的活動在清晨五點半上演。在前一晚的十點，船只、貨車和飛機會把來自世界各地數(shù)以噸計的海產(chǎn)陸續(xù)運到市場，冷凍金槍魚是其中的重頭戲。凌晨三點便會拆箱，各種海產(chǎn)陳列在拍賣場內(nèi)，供中間批發(fā)商挑選。每天早上會有六場拍賣同時舉行，以便在短時間里賣完大量的漁獲。……