Box of 6 Shiitake Mushrooms from Noto Peninsula Fetch Record ¥350,000 at Auction; Buyer Hopes to Help Quake-Hit Region

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:57 JST, January 10, 2025

KANAZAWA — A box of six premium shiitake mushrooms, weighing about 500 grams in total, fetched a record ¥350,000 during the first auction of 2025 at the central wholesale market in Kanazawa on Thursday.

Noto Temari shiitake are grown in Ishikawa Prefecture’s Okunoto region, which was devastated by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake last year.

In addition to the record-setting premium box, 10 other boxes of the mushrooms were sold at the auction. Impacted by the higher-than-normal temperatures in November, the mushrooms went under the hammer three weeks later than last fiscal year.

It was a teppanyaki restaurant in Saitama City that bought the premium Noto Temari shiitake. Apparently, most of the vegetables served at the restaurant are produced in Ishikawa Prefecture.

“I hope to continue supporting Noto through those Noto Temari mushrooms,” said Shin Murai, a representative of the restaurant.