Year's first cherry auction in Yamagata Pref.

Year's first cherry auction in Yamagata Pref.

Photo taken on Jan. 5, 2026, shows Yamagata Prefecture-produced premium Sato Nishiki cherries that fetched 1.55 million yen ($9,870) per box at the year's first auction in Tendo, a city in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

Year's first cherry auction in Yamagata Pref.

Year's first cherry auction in Yamagata Pref.

Photo taken on Jan. 5, 2026, shows Yamagata Prefecture-produced premium Sato Nishiki cherries that fetched 1.55 million yen ($9,870) per box at the year's first auction in Tendo, a city in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

Japan PM Kishida

Japan PM Kishida

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (C) is gifted Fukushima-produced premium Sato Nishiki cherries by Hiroshi Kohata (3rd from L), the mayor of the northeastern Japan city, at his office in Tokyo on June 14, 2023.

Japan PM Kishida

Japan PM Kishida

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida eats a premium Sato Nishiki cherry at his office in Tokyo on June 14, 2023, gifted to him by Hiroshi Kohata, the mayor of the northeastern Japan city of Fukushima where the seasonal fruit was produced.

Yamagata farmer ships premium cherries

Yamagata farmer ships premium cherries

YAMAGATA, Japan - Kazuo Hanawa, a farmer from the city of Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, puts his greenhouse-grown cherries in a pack before shipments on Jan. 4. The cherries, the popular Sato Nishiki variety, will be traded in markets nationwide on Jan. 5. In 2004, his cherries sold for about 1,000 yen a piece, or some 40,000 yen for a 300-gram pack.

Qaulity cherries ready for year's 1st shipment

Qaulity cherries ready for year's 1st shipment

YAMAGATA, Japan - Cherries of the high-quality Sato Nishiki variety greenhouse-cultured in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, northwestern Japan, are ready for the year's first shipment on Jan. 4, 2015.

Women sort out quality Japanese cherries for shipment

Women sort out quality Japanese cherries for shipment

YAMAGATA, Japan - Women sort out greenhouse-cultured cherries of the luxury Sato-Nishiki variety in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, northwestern Japan, on Jan. 4, 2015, for the first shipment of the year.

Yamagata farmer ships premium cherries

Yamagata farmer ships premium cherries

YAMAGATA, Japan - Kazuo Hanawa, a farmer from the city of Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, puts his greenhouse-grown cherries in a pack before shipments on Jan. 4. The cherries, the popular Sato Nishiki variety, will be traded in markets nationwide on Jan. 5. In 2004, his cherries sold for about 1,000 yen a piece, or some 40,000 yen for a 300-gram pack. (Kyodo)

High-grade cherries ready for year's 1st shipment

High-grade cherries ready for year's 1st shipment

Workers prepare high-grade Sato Nishiki variety cherries for shipment in the northwestern Japan city of Tendo on Jan. 4, 2016. A 300-gram box of the greenhouse-cultivated cherries can cost tens of thousands of yen. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Emperor, empress pick cherries at farm in northwestern Japan

Emperor, empress pick cherries at farm in northwestern Japan

Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko harvest the famed "Sato-Nishiki" variety of cherries at a farm in Higashine, Yamagata Prefecture, northwestern Japan, on June 18, 2015. (Pool photo by Mainichi Shimbun) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Quality Japanese cherries for year's 1st shipment

Quality Japanese cherries for year's 1st shipment

Workers prepare high-grade Sato Nishiki cherries for the year's first shipment in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Jan. 4, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Quality Japanese cherries for year's 1st shipment

Quality Japanese cherries for year's 1st shipment

Workers prepare high-grade Sato Nishiki cherries for the year's first shipment in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Jan. 4, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Cherries prepared for shipment to year's 1st auctions

Cherries prepared for shipment to year's 1st auctions

Women sort out high-grade Sato-Nishiki cherries on Jan. 4, 2018, in the northeastern Japan city of Tendo for the year's first shipment. The cherries will be auctioned in Tokyo and other cities from Jan. 5. They fetched a high price of 200,000 yen per 500 grams the previous year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Cherries prepared for shipment to year's 1st auctions

Cherries prepared for shipment to year's 1st auctions

Women sort out high-grade Sato-Nishiki cherries on Jan. 4, 2018, in the northeastern Japan city of Tendo for the year's first shipment. The cherries will be auctioned in Tokyo and other cities from Jan. 5. They fetched a high price of 200,000 yen per 500 grams the previous year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Sato-Nishiki cherries prepared for shipment for year's 1st auction

Sato-Nishiki cherries prepared for shipment for year's 1st auction

"High class" Sato-Nishiki cherries are prepared on Jan. 4, 2017, in the northeastern Japan city of Tendo for shipment for the first auction of the year in Tokyo and other cities. The cherries, popular as an unseasonable gift, fetched a high price of 200,000 yen per 500 grams the previous year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Sato-Nishiki cherries prepared for shipment for year's 1st auction

Sato-Nishiki cherries prepared for shipment for year's 1st auction

"High class" Sato-Nishiki cherries are prepared on Jan. 4, 2017, in the northeastern Japan city of Tendo for shipment for the first auction of the year in Tokyo and other cities. The cherries, popular as an unseasonable gift, fetched a high price of 200,000 yen per 500 grams the previous year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo