everyone has a favorite fruit and while some people may prefer exotic fruits like guavas
or mangoes my preference has always been japanese watermelons for purely aesthetic reasons if you've
ever seen a japanese watermelon the first question to come to your mind would probably be why is it
square that's right japanese watermelons are shaped like a square and that's just one of the
reasons i think they're awesome these watermelons are a multi-million dollar business in japan
with the process involved in making this beautiful square-shaped fruit being very carefully guarded
urban legend tells us that these unique watermelons only bloom once a year
and that they were invented about 30 years ago by an enterprising farmer with an 18 centimeter mold
and a dream this man was known as tomoyuki ono and he was fed up with adults and children alike
gorging themselves on unhealthy foods like ice cream and sodas and decided to create an
intriguing alternative to attract their attention it took some time but he eventually succeeded
in creating his masterpiece and presented the watermelons in a gallery in ginza tokyo in 1978
each of these prized fruits weigh about six kilograms and they contain about 91
water and six percent sugar the scientific name of these refreshing fruits is citrullus lenatas
and they come from the family cucumber tasty which is a flowering vine like plant these watermelons
are not very common for example the zensuji watermelon are only produced in zensuji near the
city of takamatsu in kagawa prefecture and only 200 of these exclusive fruits are grown annually
similarly the farmers from shikoku island also grow their versions of this unique fruit
with a great deal of attention paid to the perfection of the shape rather than the taste
in fact japanese watermelon purists don't care how the watermelons taste they simply care about
the outward appearance of the fruit and how close it comes to their vision of perfection
although each farmer has their own unique process for growing these japanese watermelon
you too can follow the process to get a specially shaped fruit of your own
all you need is dedication and the ability to think outside the box
first of all you'll need a square metal cage to put the watermelon fruit into
while it's still growing after this has been done you'll need to exercise a great deal of patience
while the round through gradually transforms into a square shape you'll also need to be very
careful to make sure that the corners are filled evenly and the lines need to be aligned so that
they are parallel with the edges the slightest crack can ruin months of work and if diseases or
any other disasters strike there may be no square watermelon for sale that year
the process of making these square-shaped japanese watermelon has received international attention
gaining geographic indication protection status in june 2019 and thereby being recognized as a
traditional craft connected to the territory it is unfortunate that the effort spent in
the creation of this outwardly beautiful fruit often means that the taste is often unpleasant
on the bright side you can get fruit that can fit perfectly into an 18 centimeter by
18 centimeter refrigerator making storage and transportation an absolute breeze
if it tastes so bad you might begin to wonder why people like it so much well the reason why it's
so prized and coveted is because it's so rare and unique much like any previous metal or work of art
these square-shaped fruits are proudly displayed in homes and stores and because they are unripe
and less sugary their shelf life is expected to be four to six months longer if you're interested
in buying a japanese watermelon to show off your prestige to your friends and family then the best
place to get one would be at the high-end japanese grocery stores and luxury tokyo fruit emporiums
like sembikiya and nishimura fruits parlor you might want to save up first though because they
typically cost 200 or 20 000 yen with prices skyrocketing to an astounding 860 dollars some
years ago in russia the profit margin from growing these watermelons is so attractive
that farmers in china have begin to grow them for export to countries like the united states
canada and even malaysia for a healthy return on investment so bring your wallets along and
spend a little extra money on a fancy watermelon i guarantee that you'll be the talk of the town
only for you