There were fragrant reminders of Japan's high-spending bubble years on Sunday night at a Tokyo auction for some of the world's biggest - and costliest - white truffles.

But in a sign of the times, the prices paid - ranging up to Y3.02m

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Billionaires and celebrities including sumo wrestlers and the reigning Miss Universe packed into a $300-per-head white truffle dinner at Tokyo's Ritz-Carlton hotel while simultaneous auctions in the northern Italian cities of Merano and Grinzane were broadcast live by satellite link into the banquet room.

The biggest truffle on the block from this year's haul of Alba (LSE: ABA.L - news) white truffles from Italy's Piedmont region, weighing 1.05kg, was carried off by a Japanese bidder who trumped European counterparts with his Y3.02m bid.

Kazumasa Terada, the president of Samantha Thavasa, the fashion retailer, who bought two truffles, including the biggest one, said he looked forward to feeding his friends with it as well as grating some over hot white rice.

But Elio Orsara, one of Tokyo's best-known Italian restaurateurs and another successful bidder, advised winners to follow the Italian way: "Just with Parmesan cheese - or hot with fresh, homemade butter over tagliolini, angel-hair pasta."

But in a trend also seen in recent art auctions, the investment bankers, Chinese magnates and other high rollers who have driven white truffle prices sky-high in recent years were conspicuously absent. The total raised by the three simultaneous auctions this year was $151,048 compared with about $535,000 last year.

Even so, said Ricco DeBlank, general manager of the Ritz-Carltonand chief truffle auctioneer: "I did have people in Moscow and elsewhere phoning in bids" - none, however, with the funds to help him carry out his vow to "turn billionaires into millionaires".

Bruno Libraron of the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners, which helps run the auction, said: "There's definitely some impact of the financial crisis. There were euro-yen difficulties - the Italians bid more last year - and last year Hong Kong financial people put their money together to bid up prices."

Various cities, including London and Hong Kong, have hosted the annual world Alba white truffle auction, now in its 10th year. It was Tokyo's debut this year and the dominance of Japanese buyers also reflected the yen's recent strength, now about Y98 to the dollar.

Unlike commercial art auctions, however, all proceeds from the truffle sale go to charity, which this year included international children's and cancer charities.