In Japan, A Pair of Melons Were Sold for $29,000

Melons have never been this expensive. Just recently, a pair of Yubari king melons from Sapporo, Japan was sold at a mind-boggling 3.2 million yen (US$29,436). It broke the previous record of 3 million yen (US$13,711.64) made in 2016.

The melons were bought by Shinya Noda, president of Hokuyu Pack, a fruit and vegetable packing company. He made the incredible purchase to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his business.

The most expensive melons ever…

“I wanted to make a record-setting bid by all means,” Noda said. .

According to him, he plans to display the melons for a month and then he will have it cut up and give the slices to his loyal customers.

The Yubari King is a melon variety grown in Yubari, a city where fruits are strictly regulated to maintain the highest quality. The city is also on the watch for bootlegs that can enter the market.

Meanwhile, this fruit sells for US$40 per piece.

Produce costing this much may sound ridiculous to most of us, but it’s hardly unusual in Japan. In 2015, a chef plunked down US$8,200 (around 901877.00 yen) for a cluster of grapes to make a dessert. Also, a strawberry called White Jewel, which is produced by only one farmer in the world, can cut you back as much as US$40 (around 4399.40 yen).

In Tokyo, there’s a luxury fruit boutique called Sembikiya where a black-skinned, stripe-less Densuke watermelon was auctioned and sold for $6,100 in 2008, making it the most expensive watermelon so far. It weighs a whopping 17 pounds and was reported to have a unique type of sweetness.

The watermelon is grown exclusively in the island of Hokkaido and only 100 pieces are produced annually.

How about apples that cost $21 each? Sekai-ichi, which translates to “the best in the world,” are washed with honey and branded by hand, ensuring its blemish-free surface. The pollination for this apples are also done by hand using a tiny wand.