Premium Cherry Sold for ¥100,000 in Tokyo; Fruit Won Last Year’s ‘Largest Cherry’ Contest in Yamagata Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

19:03 JST, June 18, 2024

A single Yamagata Benio cherry produced in Yamagata Prefecture sold for ¥100,000 at auction on Monday, according to the Yamagata prefectural government.

The cherry, part of a new variety of large cherries, was auctioned at Ota Market in Tokyo. The 5L cherry, with a diameter of 34 to 37 millimeters, was sold in a paulownia wood box.

The cherries auctioned on the day were premium-grade, with diameters of 31 to 37 millimeters. The ¥100,000 cherry was produced by Yoshimi Kanehira, 76, from the city of Tendo. Kanehira was the winner of the prefecture’s “largest fruit contest” for cherries last year.