These fruits are forbidden no more.
Americans no longer need to fly to Japan to taste one of their $90 strawberries.
For the first time ever, US customers can get the Asian nation’s famously pricey fruits delivered right to their doorstep, courtesy of a trailblazing Japanese startup called Ikigai Fruits.
The supplier is currently offering three varieties of fruit — strawberries, melons and satsuma oranges, the latter when they’re in season this October — with plans to add other seasonal options to this boutique cornucopia.
Strawberry prices range from an $89 box of ruby-red kokotas to a staggering $238 package of kiramekis. The latter, which look so immaculate they could be under museum glass, are prized in Japan for their “well-balanced sweet and tart flavor” and “succulent juice.”
White pearl strawberries, which cost $128 a box on Ikigai. Lisa Anastassiu – stock.adobe.com
Meanwhile, those celebrating a special occasion can shell out $780 for a three-tiered variety pack featuring nine kotokas, rosé-colored awayukis and pale pearl whites.
“We decided to curate and deliver the highest quality Japanese fruits to your door,” the enterprising melon monger — which hawks posh produce from local farmers across Japan — declares on its website.
Each of the designer species comes arrayed in separate mini boxes with wrappers like organic Valentine’s Day chocolates.
Then there’s the so-called “King of Melons”: A $128 crown melon, the “highest quality muskmelon grown” that’s only found in the western prefecture region of Shizuoka, per the site.
It comes in its own box, not unlike a bottle of fine cognac.
Known as the “King of Melons,” the crown musk variety costs over $120. Juraiwan – stock.adobe.com
What makes these fruits so pricey?
Like many things in Japan — from Samurai swords to sushi — it has to do with the grueling and intensive process by which these organic jewels are produced.
For instance, crown melon farmers, who often massage their produce like Kobe beef cows, have to train for two years before they can branch off and form their own farms, Bloomberg reported.
They also use the “one tree, one fruit method,” where each tree only produces a single green-skinned melon. This cultivation policy effectively distills all the nutrients into one fruit, resulting in a veritable “big bang” of flavor.
Ikigai describes the taste on its site as a trifecta of “elegant sweetness, mouth-watering juiciness and the smooth tenderness that melts in your mouth.”
Musk melons are grown using the “one tree, fruit method,” in which each tree harbors only one melon to maximize the flavor. Juraiwan – stock.adobe.com
A crown jewel is the Shizuoka prefecture Fuji muskmelon, a designation awarded to only one out of 1,000 melons, hence the exorbitant prices.
Strawberries are even more difficult as they must be grown in specialized greenhouses to protect them from pests, heat and other elements.
Transporting the delicate fruit to the U.S. is a logistical nightmare, too: After a meticulous inspection, each fruit must be packed in individual boxes with ice packs on special refrigerated planes designated for flying fruit.
It reportedly takes two weeks for the fruit to go from farm to U.S. table.
The cream of the crop is perhaps the precious Bijin-Hime strawberry, a fruit that can be as big as a baseball and costs up to an astonishing $500 apiece.
Ikigai ultimately enacted its campaign to broaden its products’ appeal beyond the country’s borders so customers worldwide can enjoy the luxury fruits of their labor — like a boutique Johnny Appleseed.
The company also hopes to inspire people to adopt farming at a time when the country’s agricultural industry is declining as younger generations turn away from tilling the land.