Gift-giving is a big part of Japanese culture, and one that's been ruthlessly capitalized on by everything from big department stores down to Seven-Elevens. At certain times of year in particular, but on a smaller scale all year around, there are displays of gifts and order forms provided almost anywhere you might be shopping. On the up side, being able to go to your local supermarket and order a box of luxury fruit for your obligors at the same time as you pick up the ingredients for your family's dinner must be a real convenience.
The price of fruit in Japan is one of those legends whose infamy has spread around the world, and become a little skewed in the process. While the ordinary apples and bananas people buy for daily consumption aren't significantly more expensive than those anywhere else (and are sometimes cheaper), gift fruit is another story. Because a gift honors the recipient in proportion to its price, they have to be expensive to be worthy. Gigantic grapes in a bunch without a single blemish, packaged in a fancy box, cost $30. Voila - a worthy gift.
Forty dollars may seem like a lot for a small melon, however pretty and perfect it looks with the vine still attached. But $40 ain't nothing - they have square and triangular melons in specialty fruit shops that cost three times this much. This is just a supermarket.
To tell the truth, I have no idea what makes one round melon cost more than another. Maybe it's the fancy box. Maybe they only grow a limited number, or they only sell ones that are absolutely round. Maybe they taste vastly superior to all other melons. Needless to say, I'm not going to take this one home and run a taste test against an ordinary musk melon. And luckily, I'm not likely to get one as a gift - because then I'd be on the line to reciprocate with something even more expensive - I mean, expressive - of my appreciation.
Gift-giving is a big part of Japanese culture, and one that's been ruthlessly capitalized on by everything from big department stores down to Seven-Elevens. At certain times of year in particular, but on a smaller scale all year around, there are displays of gifts and order forms provided almost anywhere you might be shopping. On the up side, being able to go to your local supermarket and order a box of luxury fruit for your obligors at the same time as you pick up the ingredients for your family's dinner must be a real convenience. 
The price of fruit in Japan is one of those legends whose infamy has spread around the world, and become a little skewed in the process. While the ordinary apples and bananas people buy for daily consumption aren't significantly more expensive than those anywhere else (and are sometimes cheaper), gift fruit is another story. Because a gift honors the recipient in proportion to its price, they have to be expensive to be worthy. Gigantic grapes in a bunch without a single blemish, packaged in a fancy box, cost $30. Voila - a worthy gift.
Forty dollars may seem like a lot for a small melon, however pretty and perfect it looks with the vine still attached. But $40 ain't nothing - they have square and triangular melons in specialty fruit shops that cost three times this much. This is just a supermarket.
To tell the truth, I have no idea what makes one round melon cost more than another. Maybe it's the fancy box. Maybe they only grow a limited number, or they only sell ones that are absolutely round. Maybe they taste vastly superior to all other melons. Needless to say, I'm not going to take this one home and run a taste test against an ordinary musk melon. And luckily, I'm not likely to get one as a gift - because then I'd be on the line to reciprocate with something even more expensive - I mean, expressive - of my appreciation.
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