In Tokyo's central wholesale market system, fish buyers inspect lots before auction and estimate quality and price. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's official explanation says that a bell prompts intermediate wholesalers and authorised buyers to line up at the auction stand, where they indicate bids with hand signs. The auctioneer reads many sets of fingers and designates the highest bidder; a lot can be decided within only seconds. The market day runs from arrivals between the previous evening and around 4 a.m., through inspection from roughly 4 to 7 a.m., to trading from about 4:30 to 9 a.m. What distinguishes this queue is not prolonged delay. Buyers use the waiting period to set valuations, gather at the same stand after the bell, and then move into an exceptionally compressed sale. It is a professional order for qualified traders, not a popularity line for visitors.