Japan's Priciest Watermelon

by michelle.sundvick | June 6, 2008 at 09:24 am

1546 views | 2 Recommendations | 25 comments

With summer fast approaching watermelons are indeed a much desired snack, yet not many are willing to fork over $6,100. Who knew melons were such a hot commodity?

A jumbo black watermelon auctioned in Japan on Friday fetched a record $6,100, making it one of the most expensive watermelons ever sold in the country.

In a society where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag followed another jaw-dropping auction last month, when a pair of "Yubari" cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.

The 17-pound, black-skinned "Densuke" watermelon, a variety grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido, was purchased Friday by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency.

Growers expect to produce about 9,000 Densuke watermelons this year, Ohira said.
For seasonal, high-end fruits like the Densuke watermelon and the Yubari cantaloupes, Japanese buyers are often willing to pay top prices at auction for the prestige of owning the very first ones of the year.

Other Densuke watermelons won't cost quite as much. Most will retail at department stores and supermarkets for a more modest $188 to $283, Ohira said.

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cynthia yoo

at 10:13 on June 6th, 2008

mmm...that and peaches! They've got the loveliest peaches!

Eliot & Jenni

at 14:58 on June 6th, 2008

Though I have been in Japan for nearly one year, I am still shocked at the price of produce! I also love looking at all the perfectly shaped fruits that are packaged as gifts in the produce section....they are especially expensive!

Eliot & Jenni has contributed a photo to this story.

Commentator (not verified)

at 18:49 on January 29th, 2009

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF AGRICULTURAL PROTECTIONIST ECONOMIES.

CharleyMarley

at 15:28 on June 6th, 2008

Although pricey, Japan has some amazing fruit. Very tasty. After eating melon in Japan, I cannot call what we have in America melon. It is night and day.

slimborama

at 15:38 on June 6th, 2008

$5 watermelons from Costco are the tastiest :)

slimborama has contributed a photo to this story.

Teh Chappie

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:08 on June 6th, 2008

michelle.sundvick, I like this story. It's good stuff.

MD111

at 18:19 on June 6th, 2008

A lot of stuff in Japan was not as expensive as we were led to believe, not if you come from another big expensive city already.

But fruit - wow. That was one thing that really was expensive. This watermelon was 25,000 yen or about $250, in a Shibuya store window. Yeah it was big, but $250? Other more standard sized fruit was also way expensive. They don't have a lot of room to grow to much their own in Japan, so I would guess a lot of it is imported.

MD111 has contributed a photo to this story.

Jedi.RC

at 18:34 on June 6th, 2008

Tiny watermelons in a shop nearby Shibuya station (渋谷駅), Shibuya Guard (渋谷区), with prices range from 3,150 to 5,250 yen as seen from the image.

Jedi.RC

Jedi.RC has contributed a photo to this story.

Shichiroku

at 23:55 on June 6th, 2008

Tiny watermelons in a shop nearby Ginza station (Tokyo)

Shichiroku has contributed a photo to this story.

apestrana

at 00:32 on June 7th, 2008

Do you know that japanese people love to eat watermelon with salt on it? The contrast with the salt intesify the sweetness of the watermelon :)

apestrana has contributed a photo to this story.

MaryPdot

at 22:36 on June 7th, 2008

our family has always used salt on watermelon, and most other melons as well... cantaloupe is especially sweeter with salt!

KyokoKASUYA

at 04:43 on June 7th, 2008

my dad made there water melons!

KyokoKASUYA has contributed a photo to this story.

peggypegsalot

at 16:52 on June 7th, 2008

Produce in Sapporo was pricey, but I have never had a better tomato in my life, and it was at mos burger. I have to agree that all of the food products were packaged and displayed beautifully; though, the train station at Sapporo has the disorienting quality of routing you through the underground marketplace. Here's to Summer!

peggypegsalot has contributed a photo to this story.

sawako

at 22:31 on June 7th, 2008

This watermelon was made from the kitchen garden.

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ashxc

at 23:15 on June 7th, 2008

Those watermelons had better regenerate or something. That is utterly RIDICULOUS! Just think of spending that much money to CONSUME something.

ashxc has contributed a photo to this story.

julieharbin

at 01:12 on June 8th, 2008

This is simply a photo taken of sliced watermelon brought to us by our waiter after our meal at The Phoenician restaurant located in the old port in Tyre, Lebanon. It's customary for the dessert at a restaurant in Tyre to be fruit. If you want cakes or ice cream for dessert you usually have to visit a cafe that specialises in sweets and coffee. In this case the watermelon was free-of-charge!

--Julie Poucher Harbin.
Travels & Insights: The View From Tyre (www.theharbins.info/julieblog)

julieharbin has contributed a photo to this story.

mitzicinda

at 05:44 on June 8th, 2008

It was the first day of summer and we were at the pool. The snack table had chips, crackers, and fresh fruit. My daughter knew what she wanted and dove right in. Although it took her about 15 minutes to finish, she enjoyed every minute of it!

mitzicinda has contributed a photo to this story.

jrgass

at 06:58 on June 8th, 2008

jrgass has contributed a photo to this story.

shelbyjean_98

at 08:05 on June 8th, 2008

Chilling the watermelon in the icy cold creek at Graves Mountain in Syria, Va, May 2008

shelbyjean_98 has contributed a photo to this story.

Michelle.Potter7

at 09:20 on June 8th, 2008

This picture is of a watermelon with a personality in the style of Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann. It was taken by me, Michelle.Potter7

Watermelons make people happy.

Michelle.Potter7 has contributed a photo to this story.

tworighthands

at 10:14 on June 8th, 2008

My watermelon is smaller, and selling for much less! For more info, visit:

TwoRightHands.etsy.com

tworighthands has contributed a photo to this story.

Anarkali

at 12:07 on June 8th, 2008

I, Buhari (Anarkali) Indian Nationals from Saudi Arabia. I took first day of summer and likes this watermilon to eat in this season.

I interested with photograph. I takes shots from my sonyericssion K800i only. Where ever I got good then immediately I freezed with my Mobile cam. But I am not a professional photographer but good photographer. I likes commends on my photos. I wishing you all from this nowpublic services. I hope this will be good to develope my photographic knowledge. thanks.

Anarkali has contributed a photo to this story.

Laoist

at 13:02 on June 8th, 2008

The watermelon was a gift from the bar owner. He cut it with a machete for us.

Laoist has contributed a photo to this story.

aprettyrock

at 07:13 on June 10th, 2008

I about fell back when I saw this watermelon in the store in Hong Kong. Just crazy to think that fruit could be so expensive and that someone would really pay that much for it.

aprettyrock has contributed a photo to this story.