Black Watermelon Sold for Record Price
If you ever find yourself shopping in Japan, your likely to be a bit shocked when you go to purchase something as simple as a watermelon or cantaloupe. Although pretty common to most people, in Asia, melons are actually a very expensive delicacy that can cost you anywhere from $20 to $300 each.
Last Friday, a 17-pound black-skinned “Densuke” watermelon sold for $6,100 and set a record for the most expensive watermelon ever sold in Japan.
This followed a record that was set just last month for a pair of “Yubari” cantaloupe melons which sold for $23,500.
One has to wonder why people would be willing to spend so much on a simple melon, let alone break two records in two months.
A spokesman for the Tohma Agricultural Cooperative in Hokkaido says it’s the unusual black skin and unparalleled taste. “It’s a watermelon, but it’s not the same. It has a different level of sweetness.”
(link)
Apparently in Japan, melons are a luxury item often given as gifts. The black Densuke watermelon is grown exclusively on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, and this particular one weighed 17 pounds.
okay mr. wikipedia,
we get it..
Imagine if they grown a black colored banana!
ugh, that’s nasty….
I got a banana on my counter…in a few days it’ll be black…maybe i can sell that and make some money.
$23,000 for a melon thats just nuts I think you can launch the thing into space for less then that.
Still crazy that much for a melon while in the US they are so cheap people use them for target practice and comedians smash them for laughs.
If I lived in Japan I’d farm melons in my back yard and on the roof top and sell them.
Hey, that watermelon is NOT black, it is dark green! Was the buyer colorblind???? I guess he couldn’t tell the color of the bills either and handed out dollars instead of yens.
Makes me wanna move to Japan and start up a Hydroponic garden.