Heart shaped watermelons

It took three years for farmer Hiroichi Kimura and his wife to cultivate heart-shaped watermelons. This year, they shipped 20 of the fruits, which "symbolize their passion for farming and their affection for each other." They sell for 15,750 yen apiece.

Heart shaped watermelons (Via Japan Probe)

• [dwdyer]

  Oh, if only I could eat watermelon.

  I should try it again one day with a side of benadryl.

• [Anonymous]

  Oh sure. Give a heart shaped watermelon to your sweetie and then watch her shove a knife through it… Talk about the wrong symbolism…

• [Torley]

  Gosh, another reason to love watermelons!

• [Anonymous]

  A $161 watermelon? Better be friggin’ tasty. (And friggin’ seedless…)

• [slida]

  There is something strangely beautiful about that. That picture would make a great album cover.

• [Tian]

  15,750 Yen?!

  That is US$160.

  Overpriced crap most people don’t need.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Some items which are cheap and common in the rest of the world are arbitrarily designated as luxury items in Japan and cost a fortune.

• [A New Challenger]

  My first thought was redder apples and tomatoes that taste like garbage compared to their less visually attractive ancestors. I’m not entirely certain that that particular fairly oft-repeated example of deliberate breeding isn’t a myth, as I haven’t looked for a source on it myself. Still, this is pretty cool and probably won’t result in an epidemic of tasteless melons.

  I’m not particular to watermelon (or cucumbers, which give me a similar vibe) anyway.

• [Moriarty]

  Finally, a watermelon that will fit properly in my heart-shaped refrigerator.

• [Anonymous]

  Watermelon are already quite expensive in Japan. They lack the space needed to cultivate large amounts and shipping them proves very expensive as well. Given that, the price doesn’t surprise me in the least. American’s take for granted items that people who live on islands have limited access to.

• [Tangolomango]

  I’m wondering about their next release, heart-shaped kitten…

• [hassan-i-sabbah]

  How long befroe the first “Oh no you’ve just broke my heart shaped watermelon!” scam.

• [Cowboyshoe]

  I can never say it enough…

  Japan is AWESOME!

• [Evil Jim]

  This took three years? Can’t you just grow them in a heart shaped box?

• [Anonymous]

  Meh? They have been ‘growing’ cubed shaped water mellons for years.

• [Talia]

  #2 aw come on. Regardless of its unaffordability, its still really cool.. look at it! :D

• [J France]

  A new challenger: A bit off topic, but watermelon & cucumber evoke a certain…repulsion in me, it’s not great, but I ain’t partial to it. Never met anyone else who felt the same way. I am excited.

  Everyone I know loves watermelon, I’m given sideways glances and ostracised from conversations when people realise I don’t like them.