Something of a legend in the hugely competitive world of overly large fruit, Takao Hoshijima has once again produced Japan’s most prodigious pumpkin, with his latest entry comfortably winning the top prize at a competition in Kagawa Prefecture last Sunday.
Weighing in at 357.8 kilogrammes, the phenomenally-sized fruit — along with its owner presumably — will head off to Oregon next month to represent Japan in the world pumpkin championship, where the hopes of a nation will rest heavily on the 71-year-old’s fragile frame.
Yet despite his obvious proficiency with pumpkins, Hoshijima-san has allegedly confessed that he’d be much happier getting to grips with some big and juicy melons, or perhaps more surprisingly, swapping the outdoors for the oven and trying his hand at some big buns or baps.