The Japanese Square Watermelon is rare to find, they only make 200 to 400 a year depending on the harvest. Promising round watermelons are places in metal and glass boxes, bolted in and grow for 2-3 weeks until the corners hit the ends of the box. The success rate for growing square watermelons is low, 10-25% for many farmers.
The history of the square watermelon traces back to Zentsuji, Kagawa where Yamashita-san wanted to make a watermelon that was easy to transport and also fit nicely in a refrigerator. He succeeded but the fruit was too expensive and only lasted about a week after harvest. The plan to market them changed in the 1970s when he cut them unripe with low sugar content to keep them from decaying. Now they're ornamental or display fruit, like art!
00:00 Start
01:26 Square Watermelon Farm (Zentsuji)
02:23 Time Lapse of Square Watermelon Growing
02:58 Opening the Metal Box
04:38 Square Watermelons in Tokyo
05:27 Cutting it Open & Eating
06:00 Why Not Sold Ripe
07:18 History of Square Watermelon
08:20 New Generation of Farmers
09:05 Square Watermelon Success Rate 😳
10:40 Square Waterelon Harvest Day
13:02 Boxing Square Watermelons for Sale
13:47 Press Conference with Media
14:37 Future of Square Watermelons
15:19 John on Japanese News
15:43 Conclusion
That you to Zentsuji City, JA Kagawa, Yamashita-san & family, Sugimoto-san and the hard working farmers of Zentsuji 全通寺 🍉
Where is Zentsuji? https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZYqsxdNbTHshrEJg8
An hour from Okayama Station on Shikoku Island, Kagawa prefecture.
#watermelon #Japan #squarewatermelon