One hundred Densuke fine watermelons went on sale at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market last week, with the cream of the crop being sold at a gasp-inducing 300,000 yen (US$3,740). The fruit will be on display at the Shinjuku outlet until June 16 and will be sold at 315,000 yen, according to an Isetan rep.

This particular type of Japanese watermelon—grown exclusively in the nation’s northernmost Hokkaido Island—has a bowling-ball smooth, stripe-free dark shell and soft, pink flesh. But the four thousand dollar question remains: how exactly does this mega-pricey piece of fruit taste like?

According to a Japanese agricultural expert quoted in the LATimes, it has a crisp texture and a taste incomparable to others of its kind: “It’s a watermelon, but it’s not the same. It has a different level of sweetness.”  Apparently, the sky-high premium also comes from the fact that the particular $4,000 piece was the first of this year’s crop to be sold. Japanese regard it a prestige to take the very first fruit of the season.

Via [Time]