Melon Thief

Hat tip to Charles Ayres, a pal that GR made in Tokyo at GEISAI 2008, for the melon ball scoop on this story featured in the “crime” section of Japan Today.  A 69 year old man got busted for stealing 60,000 yen worth of expensive melons, a little over $750 worth.

Any visitor to Japan or Korea, always gets a good freak out over the “premium” produce that you can find in the food plazas of the upscale department stores like Shinsegae or Isetan.  In Mongolia a decent watermelon costs $10 because it either comes from an expensive greenhouse, or it’s been trucked in across the Gobi desert from China. In Japan or Korea, your watermelon may cost $20 or more because it’s been coddled since birth/grown into a cube shape/comes wrapped in silk mesh and ribbon, and packed in a wooden box.

Wherever you are, enjoy the tastes of summer, just remember not to get caught on camera if you obtain them Peter Rabbit style.