• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Tokyo
  • Japan
    • Culture Notes
    • Holidays
    • Regions of Japan
    • Mount Fuji
  • Blog
  • Eat
  • Sleep
  • See
  • Plan

Planet Tokyo

Because you'll need more than a passport

Apples: The New Luxury Fruit

January 12, 2006 by Kassia

Apples The New Luxury FruitTo an American, the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables in Tokyo are outrageously expensive. The first time you see a $100 watermelon, you think it’s either a joke or, well, a really bad joke. A watermelon, even a square one, should fall within the realm of reasonably priced — and $100 is rarely considered a reasonable price.

Now it might not be a comfort to the people of Tokyo, but high-priced produce may become Japan’s secret weapon export. Producers of “the Rolls-Royce of apples” have discovered the Chinese market and beyond — selling fruit for prices that make overpriced watermelons seem like bargains. And why not? In China,

. . .Japanese apples are being scooped up by the Lamborghini-driving, Gucci-toting nouveau riche in Beijing and Dalian at $17 apiece, or roughly 100 times the price of a Chinese apple. Some of the finest specimens, with dragon designs and Chinese characters in their peels, retail for more than $100 each. 

Yes, you read that right: $100. For an apple. An apple in a country that holds the honor of being the world’s largest apple producer. But China isn’t the only growth market for Japanese fruit:

The crates of “Japan’s Best” apples being shipped overseas are only part of a niche-market export boom from high-end Japanese farms. It includes $240 musk melons flying off to Thailand, $3 strawberries going to Hong Kong and $170 square-shaped watermelons for Kuwait. 

Never fear, Tokyo shoppers: all the good stuff isn’t heading overseas. If you shop carefully, you can find your own $100 fruit in high shops in the Nihonbashi district. For the highest prices, we suggest out-of-season delicacies:

Cherries in winter, from Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan, can fetch a Â¥50,000 price tag for just 300 grams, or 10 ounces. 

  • Japan’s $100 apples find eager market
  • Rich cornucopia: Japanese fruit

Filed Under: Food

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Love, Tokyo Style

April 17, 2005 By Kassia

Vending Machines To The Rescue

April 20, 2005 By Kirk

Topics

Alcohol Amusement Park Aquarium Baseball Business & Commerce export featured Garden Honshu Ikebana Martial Arts Massage Museum Nightlife Observatory Palace Park Playspace River Cruise Shopping Sumo Tea Ceremony Temple Zoo

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in