Melon or Melons and fruit, in general, are highly prized in Japan where growers take great care to produce the sweetest, best exterior and interior color and texture, even growing them in shapes such as squares or hearts. Fruit given as gifts is part of Japanese culture and some of the best fruits can sell at very high prices.
夕張メロン or Yubari Meron or melon, for instance, a variety of cantaloupe developed from the two cultivars, Earl’s Favorite and Spicey, a Burpee Seed hybrid, is often presented as a gift for Chūgen and the more symmetrically round and smooth-skinned the melon, the greater it's value. In order to produce the sweetest and most perfectly formed melons, the Yubari is grown in carefully controlled greenhouse environments in Yubari, Hokkaido near Sapporo.
