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Premium melons from Hokkaido

SAPPORO, Japan, May 26 Kyodo - A pair of premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, fetches 1 million yen ($7,000) at the first auction of the year in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 26, 2025. (Kyodo)

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

A pair of premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, fetches 1 million yen ($7,000) at the first auction of the year in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 26, 2025.

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Japan: Heavy Rains Hit Hokkaido, Causing Flooding And Travel Disruptions 3

Unstable atmosphere conditions brought widespread heavy rains to Hokkaido on Tuesday, August 27, causing flooding. It caused more than a hundred train cancellations, road closures, and dozens of schools were closed.

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Japan: Heavy Rains Hit Hokkaido, Causing Flooding And Travel Disruptions 2

Unstable atmosphere conditions brought widespread heavy rains to Hokkaido on Tuesday, August 27, causing flooding. It caused more than a hundred train cancellations, road closures, and dozens of schools were closed.

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[Breaking News]Harvest of luxury melons in northern Japan

YUBARI, Japan, May 23 Kyodo - The harvest of luxury melons begins in Yubari in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on May 23, 2024, with peak harvesting expected in late June to early July. (Kyodo)

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

SAPPORO, Japan, May 24 Kyodo - Premium melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido are displayed for the first auction of the year at a wholesale market in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 24, 2024. (Kyodo)

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

A pair of premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, fetch 3 million yen ($19,000) at the first auction of the year in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 24, 2024.

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

A pair of premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, fetch 3 million yen ($19,000) at the first auction of the year in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 24, 2024.

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

Premium melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido are displayed for the first auction of the year at a wholesale market in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 24, 2024.

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Harvest of luxury melons in northern Japan

The harvest of luxury melons begins in Yubari in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on May 23, 2024, with peak harvesting expected in late June to early July.

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Harvest of luxury melons in northern Japan

The harvest of luxury melons begins in Yubari in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on May 23, 2024, with peak harvesting expected in late June to early July.

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Pair of Hokkaido melons fetch 3 mil. yen at year's 1st auction

A pair of Yubari melons fetch 3 million yen ($23,550) in Sapporo, northern Japan, on May 26, 2022, at the year's first auction for the signature product of the Hokkaido city of Yubari.(Kyodo)

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

A pair of premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, fetch 3.5 million yen ($25,000) in the first auction of the year in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 25, 2023, securing the event's second-highest bid on record.

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

Premium melons, produced in Yubari in Hokkaido, are lined up for the first auction of the year at a wholesale market in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 25, 2023.

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Fans mourn actor Takakura

YUBARI, Japan - A woman mourns late actor Ken Takakura in front of a flower stand set up at a replica of a movie set used for 1977's "The Yellow Handkerchief" (Shiawase no kiiroi hankachi) in Yubari in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Nov. 19, 2014. It was reported the previous day that Takakura, who played the central character in the film, passed away at 83. He was known to Western audiences for his role as a tough Japanese police officer alongside Michael Douglas in Ridley Scott's 1989 film "Black Rain."

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Fans mourn actor Takakura

YUBARI, Japan - People visit a replica of a movie set used for 1977's "The Yellow Handkerchief" (Shiawase no kiiroi hankachi) in Yubari in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Nov. 19, 2014, a day after Ken Takakura, who played the central character in the film, was reported to have passed away at 83. He was known to Western audiences for his role as a tough Japanese police officer alongside Michael Douglas in Ridley Scott's 1989 film "Black Rain."

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Renowned actor Ken Takakura dies at 83

YUBARI, Japan - Yellow handkerchiefs are displayed in the snow on the night of Nov. 18, 2014 in Yubari, Hokkaido in northern Japan, where the 1977 film "The Yellow Handkerchief" was shot, to express condolences over the death of actor Ken Takakura who starred in the film. (Photo taken with an exposure time of 30 seconds)

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Pair of melons auctioned for 2.5 mil. yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A pair of Yubari premium-grade melons is displayed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan, after fetching 2.5 million yen in the first auction of the harvest season on May 23, 2014.

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Local mascots wrestle in Funabashi, Chiba Pref.

FUNABASHI, Japan - Local mascot character Melon Bear of Yubari city in Hokkaido Prefecture wrestles with the mascot Funassyi (below), unofficially promoting Funabashi city, Chiba Prefecture, on May 18, 2014, during an event in Funabashi to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the opening of the local wholesale market. About 70 local mascots took part in the event.

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Yubari int'l film festival begins in northern Japan

YUBARI, Japan - Japanese screenwriter Kankuro Kudo (2nd from L), actor Masahiro Higashide (2nd from R) and actress Rina Takeda (R) stand with trophies on the stage at an opening ceremony of the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival 2014 in Yubari, Hokkaido, on Feb. 27, 2014. The three were honored for their contribution to the film industry.

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Pair of melons auctioned for 1.6 mil. yen

SAPPORO, Japan - Photo shows a pair of Yubari premium-grade melons that fetched 1.6 million yen in the first auction of the harvest season at Sapporo's Central Wholesale Market in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on May 24, 2013.

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Premium-grade melons fetch 1 mil. yen for two

SAPPORRO, Japan - Naomichi Suzuki (C), mayor of Yubari, Hokkaido, holds a pair of Yubari premium-grade melons at Sapporo's Central Wholesale Market in Hokkaido on May 17, 2012. The pair fetched 1 million yen in the first auction of the harvest season at the market, matching the top price from the previous year.

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Expensive melons

SAPPORO, Japan - Kazuo Watarai (R) from wholesaler Kurashige Shoten K.K. and Yubari Mayor Naomichi Suzuki hold a pair of Yubari melons, a type of premium orange-fleshed cantaloupe, after the company bought the fruits for 1 million yen (about $12,350) in the current harvest season's first auction at the Sapporo City Central Wholesale Markets in Hokkaido on May 13, 2011. Watarai said his company based in Sapporo will give the fruits as a gift to an association of retail companies

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Japan's youngest mayor Suzuki

YUBARI, Japan - Naomichi Suzuki poses for photos after being newly elected mayor of financially collapsed Yubari in Hokkaido on April 24, 2011. Suzuki, a former official of the Tokyo metropolitan government, became the youngest mayor in Japan at the age of 30.

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Yubari film festival

SAPPORO, Japan - Actress Hairi Katagiri, a juror at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, arrives at the venue of the five-day event that kicked off in the financially-collapsed City of Yubari, Hokkaido, on Feb. 24, 2011.

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Yubari film festival

SAPPORO, Japan - Visitors arrive at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival as the five-day event kicked off in the financially-collapsed City of Yubari, Hokkaido, on Feb. 24, 2011.

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Creator of adult cartoons seeks meeting with Tokyo vice gov.

SAPPORO, Japan - Creator of adult cartoons Reiji Urashima removes snow from the home of an elderly resident in Yubari, Hokkaido, in northern Japan on Jan. 21, 2011, to satisfy a condition set by Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inose for an interview on an ordinance amended to toughen restrictions on the sale of cartoons and animations containing ''extreme'' depictions of sexual acts.

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Lack of snow at ski resorts

SAPPORO, Japan - Yoshimitsu Sakai, manager of the Mt. Racey ski resort in Yubari, checks the condition of man-made snow on a slope on Dec. 13, 2010. The ski resort in the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido postponed its initial opening date of Nov. 27 due to a lack of snow.

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Lack of snow at ski resorts

SAPPORO, Japan - Ski lifts are kept on standby on a slope without snow at the Mt. Racey ski resort in Yubari. The ski resort in the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido postponed its initial opening date of Nov. 27 due to a lack of snow.

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$16,300 for 2 melons

SAPPORO, Japan - A price sheet is put on a pair of Yubari melons that were sold for 1.5 million yen (about $16,300) at an auction at a food wholesale market in Sapporo on May 17, 2010. Yubari melons from the Hokkaido area in northern Japan are known as a luxury fruit.

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Japan's only broke city seeks aid as wrecked community symbol

YUBARI, Japan - The overall view of Yubari city taken on Aug. 12 from a hotel.

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Pair of Yubari melons sold for 500,000 yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A pair of Yubari melons, a premium orange-fleshed variety of cantaloupe from Hokkaido, are displayed in a souvenir shop in Sapporo on May 15 after being sold for 500,000 yen in the first auction of this year's harvest season at Sapporo City Central Wholesale Markets. They sold for one-fifth of last year's price of 2.5 million yen per pair.

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Pair of Yubari melons sell for record high 2.5 mil. yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A pair of Yubari melons (foreground), a premium orange-fleshed cantaloupe variety from Hokkaido, are sold for 2.5 million yen in this harvest season's first auction held on May 13 at the Sapporo City Central Wholesale Markets. The price is a record high, surpassing the 2 million yen a pair fetched last year.

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Pair of 'Yubari' melons fetches record price of 2 mil. yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A woman points a pair of Japan's famous 'Yubari' melons put under a price sign of one million yen for each at a department store in Sapporo on May 15. Earlier in the day, the department store bought them for two million yen, the highest record, at a local wholesale food market as the first bidding of the season for the Yubari melons began.

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Ex-company president wins mayoral election in bankrupt Yubari

SAPPORO, Japan - Hajime Fujikura, a former company president, smiles April 22 after winning the mayoral election in Yubari, Hokkaido. The city has effectively gone bankrupt after running up a huge amount of debt.

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Japan goes to polls, elderly casts ballot in Yubari, Hokkaido

YUBARI, Japan - An elderly citizen casts her ballot on April 22 for the mayoral election in Yubari, Hokkaido, a city undergoing fiscal rehabilitation after running up huge debts.

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Half of Yubari officials receive notifications of retirement

SAPPORO, Japan - Almost half of the officials of the bankrupt city of Yubari in central Hokkaido received official notifications of retirement on March 30. The photo shows a Yubari City Hall room, from where desks and other office equipment were taken out.

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Half of Yubari officials receive notifications of retirement

SAPPORO, Japan - Almost half of the officials of the bankrupt city of Yubari in central Hokkaido received official notifications of retirement on March 30. Yubari Mayor Kenji Goto (L) addresses the 142 retiring officials, most of whom are in senior positions, at the end of a retirement ceremony.

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Half of Yubari officials receive notifications of retirement

SAPPORO, Japan - Almost half of the officials of the bankrupt city of Yubari in central Hokkaido received official notifications of retirement on March 30. Retiring officials (in photo) bow at the end of a retirement ceremony.

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Yubari mayor not to seek reelection

YUBARI, Japan - Kenji Goto, mayor of the financially troubled city of Yubari, Hokkaido, speaks at the city assembly on March 9. Goto said he has decided against running in the mayoral election in April.

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Bankrupt city of Yubari launches 18-year reconstruction program

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga (L) talks with Yubari Mayor Kenji Goto (C) and Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi at the Diet in Tokyo on March 6 to formally approve the designation of Yubari city as a local government undergoing financial reconstruction, the equivalent of bankruptcy of a private enterprise.

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Moves unfolding to take new look at real images of closed mines

TOKYO, Japan - Pianist Nobuko Hatano (L) and her husband, Kensai (back left), visit the home of their former neighbors Megumi and Hisashi Ito in the city of Yubari, Hokkaido.

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Pair of Yubari melons fetches record price of 800,000 yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A pair of Japan's famous Yubari melons (photo) fetches 800,000 yen, the highest price on record, as the first bidding of the season gets under way on May 17 at the main wholesale market in Sapporo on May 17.

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210,000-yen melons on sale at Sapporo department

SAPPORO, Japan - A sales clerk at a department store in Sapporo holds up a ''yubari'' melon on May 14, which the store bought for 210,000 yen at a local wholesale food market earlier in the day. Two 210,000-yen melons were put on sale.

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Sapporo department store buys 2 melons for 330,000 yen

SAPPORO, Japan - A department store salesclerk at the Sapporo branch of Daimaru Inc. in Sapporo shows two brand-name Yubari melons, which the branch bought for 330,000 yen at a local wholesale food market on May 13.

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Season's first crop of 'Yubari' melon fetches 150,000 yen

SAPPORO, Japan - These ''Yubari'' melons, the season's first crop grown at a Hokkaido farm, were knocked down to a Sapporo department store for 150,000 yen (about 1,170 dollars at current exchange rate) apiece in an auction held May 14. ''The price makes me lose all my appetite,'' commented a housewife who visited the fruit section of the department store.

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Sapporo department store buys 2 melons for 300,000 yen

SAPPORO, Japan - Photo shows two brand-name Yubari melons bought by a department store in Sapporo, Hokkaido, for 300,000 yen at a local wholesale food market on May 16. The department store plans to auction the fruit to its customers, with the proceeds from the sale to be donated to welfare projects of the Sapporo city government.

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Pair of Hokkaido melons fetch 3 mil. yen at year's 1st auction

Winning bidder Kiyomichi Noda (R) and Tsukasa Atsuya, mayor of the Hokkaido city of Yubari, pose with a pair of Yubari melons in Sapporo, northern Japan, on May 26, 2022, after the melons fetched 3 million yen ($23,550) at the year's first auction for the product.

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Pair of Hokkaido melons fetch 3 mil. yen at year's 1st auction

A pair of Yubari melons fetch 3 million yen ($23,550) in Sapporo, northern Japan, on May 26, 2022, at the year's first auction for the signature product of the Hokkaido city of Yubari.

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Bankrupt city of Yubari launches 18-year reconstruction program

TOKYO, Japan - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga (L) talks with Yubari Mayor Kenji Goto (C) and Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi at the Diet in Tokyo on March 6 to formally approve the designation of Yubari city as a local government undergoing financial reconstruction, the equivalent of bankruptcy of a private enterprise. (Kyodo)