Japan has a very large gift-giving culture, with people often opting for salty snacks, tasty sweets, and fresh fruits. Fresh fruits are especially popular as different regions of Japan are famous for different fruits. Among all of these fresh local fruits, one expensive and buzzworthy option is the amazing Yubari melon.
What is Yubari melon and what makes it so expensive? Let’s find out with a quick look at the delicious king of melons!
What is Yubari Melon?
The flesh of Yubari melon is soft, sweet and has an amazing melty texture that makes it the king of melons. Image via Instagram
Yubari melon, also known as the Yubari King melon is actually a hybrid melon made from Earl’s Favorite and Burpee’s “Spicy” Melon. It was cultivated sometime in the mid-1960s, a time when Hokkaido was bringing back its melon production after World War 2.
Although there are plenty of melon types across Japan and in Hokkaido, the Yubari King gets its name from its hometown, Yubari City. Hokkaido is an amazing place to grow melons thanks to its drier climate, but Yubari is even better because of its terrain.
Yubari even has a mascot whose name is Melon Bear. He's a weirdly scary and aggressive combination of Yubari melon and bear and he eats other mascots. Image via Instagram
Surrounded by terrain like mountains and hills, Yubari has quite a difference between daytime temperatures and nighttime. Plus, the soil has plenty of volcanic ash from the nearby Mount Tarumae, an active volcano. This ash has special properties that help melons to grow even better than other parts of Hokkaido.
These factors combine to create the perfect environment for melons. But what makes the Yubari King so different from other melons?
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What Makes Yubari Melon Special?
Yubari melon really can be considered a luxury experience, which comes with a luxury price tag, especially for the highest grades. Image via Instagram
There are plenty of delicious types of melons, but the Yubari King stands out thanks to its sweetness, fragrance, and juiciness. It’s also famous for its super soft texture that just melts in your mouth. The Yubari melon is also known for its fine, white mesh pattern. In fact, the finer the mesh, the sweeter this melon is.
Even though it comes from a small town, Yubari has plenty of events for the king of melons. One of the most newsworthy is the Yubari Melon auction thanks to the astonishing prices it can reach. Two melons can reach an extremely high cost if the right players are present at the auction.
There are reasons for the price being so high, which we'll get into later. But those reasons make the price tag a bit more understandable. Image via Instagram
In fact, one particular year saw two melons being bought for a whopping 5 million yen (~$50,000 USD at the time). This happened in 2019 when Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd. bought them. The previous record was a just-as-buzzworthy 3 million yen (~$30,000 USD) back in 2016.
For those looking for a more affordable and less jaw-dropping melon event, the Yubari Melon Festival is held every year during the peak harvest around June or July. Here, you can see more bidding, watch the children’s melon-eating contest (lucky kids), or just enjoy some free samples.
Why is it so expensive
So what makes this melon so special that people would spend so much money for it? Well, to answer that, we have to talk about three main factors: the process, the quality inspection, and the geographical indication.
The process:
A lot of love and care goes into each melon to create the sweetest and juiciest versions of Yubari's famous melon. Image via Instagram
These particular melons require almost constant care from the farmers throughout the growing process. It starts with planting in the winter in a heated greenhouse. The plant will blossom in the spring and will later bear fruit.
The farmers actually use a mat that helps the melon to grow into a perfect sphere while also stopping dirt from sticking to the fruit. However, they also have to be aware of the covering, adjusting it to make sure the melons get the perfect amount of sunlight. If they don’t get enough, the mesh-like outside doesn’t develop properly.
When it comes time for harvesting, farmers actually harvest each fruit by hand with a pair of scissors to make sure that they are as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
Quality Inspections
Even the lowest-quality melons are still amazingly delicous but go for a lower cost, like these melons on sale for 1580 for one or 3000 for two. Image via Instagram
After harvest, the melons go through thorough quality inspections, especially taking into account things like flavor and shape. It even receives one of four different grades, the grades being: good, excellent, premium, and super premium. The price of the melon is affected by which grade the melon gets.
A ‘good’ melon can cost about 4000yen (about $40 USD). On the other hand, the super-premium starts at about 10,000 yen (about $100 USD). If it’s lacking in flavor or sweetness, or if it’s too sweet, it won’t go to market.
Geographical Indication
Hokkaido itself has great soil and plenty of space to grow all kinds of produce, often said to be a prefecture that is blessed by nature. Image via Unsplash
Yubari melons are actually protected by their geography, similar to Kobe beef. This means that, even with the same process on the same kind of soil, a melon only becomes a Yubari King if it was grown in Yubari. That being said, no one outside of the city really has the seeds to grow it anyway.
Yubari Melon Treats
There’s more than one way to enjoy the Yubari King. We’ll show you some of our favorite ways to do so.
Yubari Melon On Its Own
A whole premium melon may be out of budget, but a slice of this delicious treat is more accessible and easy to enjoy! Image via Instagram
If you want to just enjoy the natural taste of the melon, just buy a melon. Some farms will allow you to buy them directly with clerks who can recommend one that you can dig right into, or one that will keep for a few days. However, keep in mind that the usual best-by date is actually just two or three days after harvest. Any more than that, and you might miss the melon’s peak ripeness and flavor.
You can also get it from roadside stations. This way, you can enjoy the classic Yubari melon while also getting the opportunity to sample other produce from local farms. They may even have snacks and candy, all locally sourced.
You can also enjoy some amazing bite-sized melon balls that are like tiny flavor bombs that melt in your mouth. Image via Instagram
If you don’t have time to visit Yubari, you can head to major marketplaces and department stores in the Sapporo City area, Hokkaido’s largest city. The larger marketplaces will usually have them in the produce section along with other fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, and snacks.
Meanwhile, large department stores in Sapporo will often have a food section, usually in the basement, where you can find these melons. Although, they usually carry the higher-quality, more expensive melons or the ones placed in wooden boxes for gifts. Just remember that, if you’re visiting Japan, you may not be able to take fresh produce home with you even if you buy the fancy box.
Yubari Melon Ice Cream
Nothing beats the combo of vanilla-melon swirl ice cream inside of a Yubari melon bowl, especially when it melts a little and adds creaminess to the melon. Image via Instagram
Summer is the peak season for Yubari melon, but for those who want something a little colder, Yubari melon ice cream is a perfect choice. Hokkaido is even more famous for its milk and dairy products, with even its plain vanilla ice cream being a rich and creamy experience. Hokkaido even has regional flavors throughout the prefecture for cities with other famous products, like lavendar.
Knowing how good Hokkaido ice cream is, the Yubari King melon soft serve is a must-try that is sure to please any lover of melon and ice cream. You can even head to shops like Popura Farm for melon ice cream inside of either a piece or a half of a melon.
Jelly
Pop one of these in the fridge and it creates a perfect summer treat that will help you to cool down. Image via Instagram
You may not be able to take a Yubari Melon across customs, but a jelly is the perfect way to take this flavor home, whether you choose to share it or not. Jellies, like the Yubari King Pure Jelly from HORI, uses plenty of authentic juice from the melons, so every spoonful captures the taste of the melon perfectly. It even has a similar texture to the actual melon to make the king melon experience portable.
You can also find plenty of desserts around Yubari melon season, including parfaits (like this one), pancakes and more! Image via Instagram
There are actually even more ways to enjoy the taste of Yubari melon, but that would take a whole database of melon-based products. The next time you have the chance, definitely give this tasty treat a try, whether it’s the Yubari classic itself or a delicious melon-flavored treat.
