Square Watermelon Exposed ★ ONLY in JAPAN
Zentsuji in Kagawa Prefecture is the home to Japan's SQUARE WATERMELONS and I travel to Shikoku Island to the very spot where they've been producing them for decades. In this Man vs. Nature battle, mankind seems to have won -- but at the expensive costs to produce square watermelons, a luxury fruit, does anyone actually want one? Before going, I had many questions: Why do Japanese Square Watermelons exist? How are the grown? Do you eat them? What do they taste like? How much do they cost? I asked the son of the man who started it all, Yamashita-san. He took over for his father and continues his legacy of growing the perfect square watermelon. The story: About 45 years ago in Japan, ice cream and beverages started to compete with watermelons in the summer, and Zentsuji's Yamashita-san, who didn't want to give up making watermelons, decided to make the square watermelon to compete with those new favorites. Unfortunately, the costs were too high so they changed strategy to make them for display purposes. Stores would gladly pay more for it while customers did not want to pay more to eat them. Over the years, his son took over and he stuck with it – and now the SQUARE WATERMELON of ZENTSUJI is world famous! I'll take you to the farm where you'll see the metal and glass box they're grown in. The we go to the cooperative warehouse where local farmers process the watermelons for distribution around Japan and the rest of the world. Facts about the Square Watermelon: * They're only grown in Zentsuji where they are both trademarked and patented. * Zentsuji produces about 200 annually. * They cost between 10,000 and 20,000 yen in Tokyo but depending on the market forces, prices can rise to as high as 90,000 yen for one! * How big are they? They're 18 x 18cm so they can fit on the shelf if a refrigerator. * The harvest starts at the end of June and lasts to the middle of July. How to get to Zentsuji: There are a few daily flights to Takamatsu from Narita (Tokyo) with JETSTAR Airlines. From Takamatsu Airport, take a bus to the JR Train Station then a local train to Zentsuji / 30 minutes. Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/KfyUNGiaWW92 Music Credits: Habanera by Bizet Frozen Star by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100356 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ ♩♫ Happy and Inspirational Music ♪♬ - Bedtime Stories (Copyright and Royalty Free) by Ross Bugden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVHVFwwuOa0 Special thank you to Mr. Hoshi from the Zentsuji Tourism Office! http://www.zentsuji.com/english/ and Mr. Yamashita and his wife & JA Kagawa NOTE: This video is under the normal YouTube License (it's not creative commons) and permission is required for use of this video. Follow John on Instagram during his location shoots around Japan: https://www.instagram.com/onlyinjapantv/ This show has been created and produced by John Daub ジョン・ドーブ. He's been living and working in Japan for over 18 years and regularly reports on TV for Japan's International Channel.
Comments
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what's the name of the song playing in 2:35? it's interesting
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I have heard if you really want to impress, bring a beautiful melon to a dinner party or similar event to show respect. Is this true?
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I enjoy your channel. Keep up the great work!
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Everything that I always see in Japanese, Chinese (Asian) Movies and Tv show I'm seeing them in your videos. Just great!!!!
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The square watermelon are not edible.
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Here in Pakistan, a good size melon usually available in just 1 dollar approx.
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I did not know that watermelons can get sick
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1. i love water melins
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So its just a watermelon in a box
Thats basically what it is right
Why is it so expensive -
There's something comical about square watermelons being transported in one of those cube shaped cars XD I wonder if they did that on purpose or if it was accidental
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your so kind
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If I knew they were growing a few square watermelons to be edible I'd take a trip to buy it fresh from the farm!
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it make sense, paying good amout for that artwork
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What is that thing next to the square watermelon? It looks like a watermelon peanut
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I find it really nonsense the fact that it's unedible.
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Dear John Daub,
I am From South Asian Country, "Bangladesh" . I am a regular viewer of your videos. and i have seen all of your videos here. I have a request, Please make more street food n japanees Food videos and plz make few videos about Japanees Car Auctions nd markets.. and obviously make extra long videos , such as arround 20:00-30:00min. Oh another Request is........ アメリカドルの価格を入力します。
Googleが翻訳使用して、と言って申し訳ありません.
Thank you. -
Japanese people are so great. :D
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Why is it only grown there John ?
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UDON!
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i can only imagine some rich people buying fruits like that just to impress their loved ones.
if the inside doesnt taste better its just a weird shaped fruit ;p
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