Premium melons go for ¥2.7 mil at auction

Someone in Hokkaido is laughing all the way to the bank....

A fool and his money are easily parted. I think regular melons in Japan are stupidly overpriced nevermind these.

This must be why merlons are never on the menu at food banks.

All produce is ridiculously overpriced here. Last time I went to a supermarket in the U.S. they had mango at 70 cents per pound and huge melons for a couple bucks. You know what?... I'd take affordable GMO fruits and veggies any day over Japanese produce.

Nice to see japan has it’s priorities right as usual

Does the money for these publicity auctions go to charity or the producer? If it is the producer, how do they choose whose fruit goes in the very first auction? Do they take turns? If they do, whoever's turn it was last year lucked out big time.

""In what might be the unlikeliest indicator of a post-pandemic recovery,""

Post - Pandemic Recovery? This must be a joke !

In what might be the unlikeliest indicator of a post-pandemic recovery, a pair of premium Japanese melons have sold for 2.7 million yen at auction, over 22 times more than last year's virus-hit price.

Because conspicuous consumption on item of questionable woth by people with more money than sense is always a reliable indicator of the economic health of a nation.

"Although there's still plenty of negative news, I hope this can help people smile and overcome the coronavirus pandemic," he told national broadcaster NHK.

These gross appeals to sentiment never go stale here do they.

It's a PR stunt for both Yubari melons and the guy who "won" the auction, similar to the tuna auction that makes the news every year.

In what might be the unlikeliest indicator of a post-pandemic recovery, a pair of premium Japanese melons have sold for 2.7 million yen at auction, over 22 times more than last year's virus-hit price.

The Japanese economy has been on a downward spiral for 30 years now, only exacerbated by the loss of 3m tourists a month owing to the pandemic. One box of $27,000 melons is an indicator of nothing.

The successful bidder was a local manufacturer of baby food, whose president said he hoped the purchase would spread a bit of a good cheer.

"Although there's still plenty of negative news, I hope this can help people smile and overcome the coronavirus pandemic," he told national broadcaster NHK.

Spread a good cheer my ?ss, only the farmer and his family will be having a good cheer.

people with too much money

People dying left and right while this takes place. The hypocrisy is evident here. No empathy. Shame on them to conduct publicly such event under such dire situation!

You can't have a post-pandemic recovery in the middle of a pandemic. Please don't tell me the messaging in Japan is going to shift to "Job well done guys, pandemic is over! Fruit time!" before they even seriously start vaccinating.

"People dying left and right while this takes place. The hypocrisy is evident here."

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Some people are jobless, no money to put food on the table. Please put on hold ridiculous event like this!

Priorities Japan!

A bankrupt town

https://www.japan-experience.com/to-know/the-history-of-japan/yubari

"Although there's still plenty of negative news, I hope this can help people smile and overcome the coronavirus pandemic," he told national broadcaster NHK.

Can somebody tell me how my eyes rolling will help me overcome this pandemic? Am I missing something? Is it something to do with my foreign DNA?

There's nothing like a good pair of premium melons

Melon mad season is upon us, the holy grail of, I quote, cool, sweet and refreshing, are the taste of summer, at an eye watering price of  2.7 million yen.

My Mother insists all melons cannot be defined as similar in taste.

Well clearly not the 2.7 million yen variety.

"Although there's still plenty of negative news, I hope this can help people smile and overcome the coronavirus pandemic,

Did this help anyone else smile at this silliness?

What are the odds one would be able to switch it up for a normal melon and throw it on the auction?

All that money to waste.

Off the home center to buy seeds.

I don't see the purpose of growing and selling expensive fruits, never mention the notion of "expensive". Fruits are grown from the earth, water and sunlight, all are free. They need not care too much, and even if they are taken care for, the labor to do that won't amount to 2.7M yen.

This is a kind of advertising. I’m sure the melons are good, but this is about creating an image of value.

It's about creating an image of wealth. The purchaser is flexing his wallet.

Should have given the too much money , obviously unneeded, to a school lunch NPO or a suicide prevention hotline etc. instead. But we all know, stupidity hasn’t any limits.

Here it is. My yearly “Come on!!! It’s only fruit!!!!”

$30,000. Shallow and superficial. Kind of sums up some people and attitudes. Look! I'm watching a TV show that shows that these people have 24carat gold faucets in their bathroom! Look! She bought this Hermes gum case for 30,000 yen! The only reason people buy these melons is to impress people as status symbols. I'm sure it tastes like a..........melon....a good melon...but just a melon.

What a terrible investment.

What? This isn’t an investment. It’s actually intentionally the opposite. This is a flaunting of wealth on something that can’t be resold and must be consumed. If it was an investment, it would be nothing special whatsoever - business deals tens and hundreds of times larger than this happen every day.

What a terrible investment.

Not necessarily. It is usually an "investment" that leads to free advertsising that will be given to the purchasing company. This is seen also in the case of the first tuna auctions of the season, the free advertising for the restaurant pays for the inflated purchase many times over.

This is just a publicity stunt. Lots of attention at a fraction of the cost of actual advertising.

The buyer said he hoped his purchase makes people smile. I'm certainly smiling at his flagrant abuse of the value of money. But, what the heck, it's Japan - where fresh produce, and just about every other fresh food, is absurdly expensive.

Melons are not high on my list of things to buy for 2.7 million yen.

This is just a publicity stunt.

Someone who gets it. Which, as he is Japanese, is to be expected.