Photo/Illutration People watch a tuna auction from the dedicated deck at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo’s Koto Ward on Nov. 2. (Shinnosuke Ito)

Eighteen tourists took in the first public viewing of a tuna auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market in roughly eight months on Nov. 2.

The viewings, which were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restarted on the day, but the number of spectators is now limited to 27 per auction, down from 120 before the outbreak as a measure against the novel coronavirus.

The thinned-out crowd offered some reassurance to one woman who viewed the auction.

“There weren't so many people watching, so I could enjoy it without worrying too much about the virus,” said a 42-year-old Tokyo homemaker, who brought her two elementary school boys to the event.

Due to the spread of the virus, the auctions had been held without spectators since the end of February.

The 30-minute viewing event kicked off at 5:55 a.m. at a dedicated deck in a corner of the market.

Viewers were required to wear face masks and have their body temperatures checked.

They then got an up-close view as traders shouted out prices and buyers duked it one after another until the tunas were awarded to those who made the winning bids.

The pandemic has also slashed the volume and value of marine products traded at the Toyosu market, compared with a year earlier.

The products were hit particularly hard in April, when the government declared a state of emergency over the health crisis, with their volume sinking 14 percent and their value down 34 percent year on year.

The figures have been recovering since June, but have remained below last year’s level.

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