Melon was auctioned for approximately $36,500

According to Kyodo News, a new record was broken at the auction of Hokkaido melons.

At the first auction of this year, a pair of melons sold for 5.8 million yen, surpassing the record price of 5 million yen set in 2019.

Futami Seika, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, won this year's tender for the expensive melons, the symbol of Yubari town in Hokkaido.

The melons will then be sold to Keio Store, which will display them in one of its supermarkets in Tokyo until Sunday.

According to the Yubari Agricultural Cooperative, local farmers plan to ship 3,086 tons of melons worth about 2.12 billion yen this year.

At major auctions in Japan, premium fruits are often sold at very high prices, and buyers often use the winning bids for promotional purposes.