The Densuke watermelon, Japan’s most coveted variety of watermelon, sold at an auction for $3,743, according to the Huffington Post.
Densuke watermelons are grown exclusively on Hokkaido, in northern Japan, and are valued for their black rinds and crisp, sweet flesh.
The highest prices go to the 100 Densuke watermelons sold on the first day of their season. The priciest -- at 300,000 yen or $3,743 --was sold to Isetan Department store. The store said it plans to sell the melon for 315,000 yen, the Huffington Post reports.
That figure is down from 2008, when the top Densuke watermelon sold for 650,000 yen -- or $6,100.
Expensive Japanese fruit is nothing new. A normal watermelon could cost $30, while a square-shaped watermelon could cost about $80. At previous auctions, a bunch of grapes sold for $900 and a pair of mangos sold for $2,000.
