Japan's Insanely Expensive Fruits

[yuiyoshida]

by Yumi


My mother was very generous when it comes to fruits. We always ate fruits after dinner and my other Japanese friends didn’t have the luxury so they were jealous about us. I am not sure why these fruits are so expensive and who would spend that much money on fruits? And I found this store that sells only fruits. It’s located in Ginza, Tokyo and this is a very high end store.

I guess some Japanese people do. My mother isn’t Japanese but she always told us to eat well, healthy and organic. But no, she didn’t buy fruits that cost this much…

Top Four seriously expensive fruits sold at this high end store. (http://ginza-sembikiya.jp/company)

1) Melon: This is fairly expensive even in regular grocery stores in Japan. But in this store, one melon costs 16,200 yen..wow!

2) Cherries that melt in your mouth. Guess how much each cherry costs? 12,960 yen..these cherries look beautiful, the exact same size..



http://www.yumitolesson.com/japans-insanely-expensive-fruits/

[Art_from_Ark]

1. Of course, that's Ginza

It's like going grocery shopping at Saks 5th Avenue.

The local stores here are much more price competitive.

[yuiyoshida]

2. all those fruits in

Yumi's article look so yummy Art-san...Why is it, I always get stuck with ugly pears that taste
like sandpaper?

[Art_from_Ark]

3. You buy American fruits that are grown for mass marketing

Taste is usually sacrificed for preservability.

On the other hand, fruits that are grown in Japan are usually grown for taste. They have a short shelf life, but Japanese consumers are usually willing to pay extra for the taste.

Apples in the supermarket, for example, are crisper and juicier here, as are supermarket pears.

[yuiyoshida]

4. Even tomatoes have lost their taste

i buy the cherry tomatoes, they seem to have been unaffected.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. American tomatoes are like cardboard

The tomatoes I buy at the local Japanese greengrocer are usually very juicy and flavorful.

[yuiyoshida]

6. it is totally

ridicules what we have to pay, especially in expensive California, for fruits and veggies that are flavorless. I had a friend who used to grow chili peppers like jalapenos and Habaneros in his back yard along with tomatoes. The tomatoes and chilis were flavorful but I guess since they were home grown, they were better. The only things that don't seem to lose flavor are avocado and are for the most part equally expensive. I grew my own tree for a while, but ended up having to give it to someone because I was moving out. Nothing like fresh avocados!

[Art_from_Ark]

7. I had fresh-from-the-tree avocados for a while

That's how I cultivated a taste for them.
You can buy all the avocados you want to here in Japan. Most of them are from Mexico, and the flavor varies considerably from watery to full-textured. Also, some of them spoil very quickly, while others have a longer shelf life.

[yuiyoshida]

8. I will buy a bag of them,

about ten, and they have to be used up within the week or they go bad very fast. I make lots of Guacamole with lemon..and they seem to last longer that way in the fridge.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. How much is a yen worth????

that would be helpful info. in deciphering the prices in this story.

[Art_from_Ark]

10. 1 dollar is approximately 123 yen

[Jesus Malverde]

11. Here is a 30,000 yen melon in Kyushu

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Did I do the math right?

30,000 yen divided by 123 yen ( 123 =1.00) comes to 243 dollars?

[Jesus Malverde]

13. Yes, mostly given as a status gift for business purposes.

It's not likely someone would buy that for their family. Included the famers name and farm.

Weird eh.

[Art_from_Ark]

14. The vein pattern on the rind is important

[kentauros]

15. One reason they are expensive

is that they are likely hand-picked for size-, shape-, and color-uniformity. Probably of a certain heirloom variety as well. Possibly excessively organically grown (as in, absolutely no amendments other than what comes from the earth of the farm (manure, compost, companion-planting for pest-control, hand-picking of pests, growing plants to attract beneficial insects, et cetera.) Or, only biological and mineral amendments (fish emulsion, powdered rocks for minerals.) Possibly also biodynamic farming techniques.

I seriously doubt that they are grown by any conventional means as we are all used to with regular grocery-store produce.