$45,000 for a Melon, Seriously?

source

Did you know that there's a melon that costs $45,000. It's just melons.

The Yubari King Melon is grown in Hokkaido, Japan and is more like art than food. Farmers actually rub the skin of the fruit so that it will make a pattern on the surface of the fruit as it grows. The melons grow in volcanic soil. The temperatures of the melons are monitored every minute while they're in a special greenhouse. If there is even the smallest scratch on the melon then the price will drop significantly.

Eating the melons is not the main purpose of buying them. In Japan, buying high priced fruit for someone like your boss, your business partner or a family member during the holidays is a sign of respect. It's kind of like a luxury car. You can hold it in your hands and say, this cost me thousands of dollars.

From how people that have seen it and had the chance to eat it describes them, the melons taste really good. They are supposed to be really sweet and juicy. People say that they just melt in your mouth. But still $45,000, I'm not doing it. You can say I'm broke I don't care.

Other types of fruits sell for these prices too. Ruby Roman grapes are also expensive.

They can be found for up to $8,000 for one bunch of grapes. Densuke watermelons, which are black on the outside, sell for over $6,000. So melons are not the only type of high priced fruit.

When I first read about melons costing this much, I thought for sure that it was a mistake or a bad translation. But people are really buying melons. There are actual auction records of people buying these melons. There are actually stores that sell one melon regularly for around $200.

There is obviously something about having something that is perfect that makes people buy it. The fruit is round, the stem is even and the fruit has no blemishes or any small imperfections. The amount of effort that goes into producing something that is going to be gone in a matter of 10 minutes is mind blowing to me.

Would I ever buy a Yubari melon if I had the money? Probably not, but I can certainly understand the want to buy one just once.