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Premium melons from Hokkaido

SAPPORO, Japan, May 22 Kyodo - A pair of Yubari melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido fetches a record price of 5.8 million yen ($36,470) at the season's first auction in Sapporo, the capital of northern Japan prefecture, on May 22, 2026. (Kyodo)

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

Premium melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido are displayed for the season's first auction at a wholesale market in Sapporo, the capital of northern Japan prefecture, on May 22, 2026.

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Premium melons from Hokkaido

A pair of Yubari melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido fetches a record price of 5.8 million yen ($36,470) at the season's first auction in Sapporo, the capital of northern Japan prefecture, on May 22, 2026.

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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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[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

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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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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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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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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$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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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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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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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. (Kyodo)

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Premium melon-tasting event in Japan

Kurashi-Kaientai, a food store in Amagasaki, Japan, holds a melon-tasting event for customers on May 30, 2016, serving one of the two Yubari premium melons it purchased at the season's first auction in Sapporo earlier in May with a record bid of 3 million yen (about $27,000). (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Premium melon-tasting event in Japan

Kurashi-Kaientai, a food store in Amagasaki, Japan, holds a melon-tasting event for customers on May 30, 2016, serving one of the two Yubari premium melons it purchased at the season's first auction in Sapporo earlier in May with a record bid of 3 million yen (about $27,000). (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hokkaido melons fetch record 3 million yen at season's 1st auction

A pair of premium Yubari melons, a specialty of the Hokkaido city of Yubari, fetch a record-setting bid price of 3 million yen at the season's first auction in Sapporo on May 26, 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hokkaido melons fetch record 3 million yen at season's 1st auction

Naomichi Suzuki (R), mayor of the Hokkaido city of Yubari, holds a pair of Yubari melons with Takamaru Konishi, buyer at a supermarket in Amagasaki, western Japan, who became the winning bidder of the premium melons with a record-setting price of 3 million yen in the season's first auction in Sapporo on May 26, 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hokkaido melons fetch record 3 million yen at season's 1st auction

Yubari melons, a specialty of the Hokkaido city of Yubari, are auctioned at a wholesale market in Sapporo on May 26, 2016. A pair of melons fetched a record-setting 3 million yen at the season's first auction. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hokkaido melons fetch record 3 million yen at season's 1st auction

Naomichi Suzuki (R), mayor of the Hokkaido city of Yubari, holds a pair of Yubari melons with Takamaru Konishi, buyer at a supermarket in Amagasaki, western Japan, who became the winning bidder of the premium melons with a record-setting price of 3 million yen in the season's first auction in Sapporo on May 26, 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Pair of Yubari melons fetches 1.5 mil. yen at year's 1st auction

A pair of premium Japanese melons fetches 1.5 million yen at this year's first auction for melons raised in Yubari in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on May 22, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hokkaido melons fetch 1.5 million yen at season's 1st auction

Toshiki Shimbo, a senior official at a supermarket in the central Japanese city of Niigata, holds a pair of melons, specialty of Yubari, Hokkaido, which fetched a winning bid price of 1.5 million yen in the year's first auction in Sapporo on May 22, 2015. The melons are scheduled to be showcased at Shimbo's shop. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Harvest of Yubari Melon begins in Hokkaido

Takahiro Kobayashi, grower of Yubari King Melons, begins harvesting the premium musk melon in Yubari in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on May 21, 2015. The 1.5-kilogram, 15-centimeter-diameter melons were to be shipped across the nation the following day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Harvest of Yubari Melon begins in Hokkaido

Takahiro Kobayashi (L), grower of Yubari King Melons, begins harvesting the premium musk melon in Yubari in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on May 21, 2015. The 1.5-kilogram, 15-centimeter-diameter melons were to be shipped across the nation the following day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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. (Kyodo)

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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 (Kyodo)

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Premium Hokkaido melons

Photo taken May 24, 2021, shows a pair of premium melons produced in Yubari, Hokkaido and sold for 2.7 million yen ($24,800) in this year's first auction at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market in the northernmost main Japanese island earlier in the day. The price was about 23 times higher than last year's winning bid.

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Premium Hokkaido melons

Photo taken May 24, 2021, shows a pair of premium melons produced in Yubari, Hokkaido and sold for 2.7 million yen ($24,800) in this year's first auction at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market in the northernmost main Japanese island earlier in the day. The price was about 23 times higher than last year's winning bid.