Marvelous melons

Getting to grips with a pair of big and juicy melons is a thought that consumes many people’s minds, yet few of us, it has to be said, go as far as Kaijo Suzuki for the chance to slaver and slurp on some fleshy fruit.

Smashing the previous record set last year, Suzuki-san paid a staggering 800,000 yen (3,800 pound) at an auction on Wednesday for two famously expensive Yubari melons. The 53-year-old wholesaler drooling, “I wanted to tell my customers that Hokkaido’s tasty season will begin.”

Officials at JA Yubarashi, an agricultural cooperative where the auction took place, promised to keep the media abreast with any further developments.