The Japanese kokota, awayuki, and pearl white are now available to Americans — if you can afford them. Produce is expensive these days, but these luxury fruits are on a whole other level.
Perfect strawberries, oranges, and melons in Pantone-ready colors, wrapped like priceless gems, are the “cream of the crop” that Ikigai Fruits, a new reseller of rare, premium Japanese fruit, is shipping to the US.
Ikigai's fruits are priced more like Michelin-starred meals, in contrast to the alluring but somewhat expensive organic strawberries at Whole Foods.
It's not shocking at all, considering that premium fruit is a major deal in Japan. In Japan, the fruit is sold primarily at Sembikiya, which is also referred to as the Tiffany store of fruits; it has more than ten stores in Tokyo.
Given how highly valued seasonality and gift-giving are in Japanese society, it is customary for them to present upscale fruit to close friends and family members during the Ochūgen and Oseibo gift-giving seasons.
The fruit is apparently supposed to taste like notes of pineapple and a subtle vanilla hint as well.
I love my family but I don't know if I love them enough to dish out $700+ on imported strawberries!