Photographs from a small group of islands
Farmers in Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, are once again in novelty nirvana, as the their yearly shipment of overly-priced and unusually-shaped watermelons has just kicked off. Making it a momentous day for Japan’s fancy fruit lovers, with masses of mutated melon maniacs already clearing out suitable spaces for this allegedly freezer-friendly fruit.
Perhaps.
Still looking for the perfect snack to compliment your tinned tea or coffee? A product as compact and convenient as your favourite ready-made beverage?
Well, further foraging is at last unnecessary, because here it is: canned bread.
Yes, bread in a tin. It lasts for 3 years too. And if that’s not enough, you can also choose between chocolate chip, raisin and nut, or the slightly more adventurous coffee, raisin and nut variety. Amazing eh?
Did I mention it comes in a can?
Acutely aware however of such a reaction to its product, the organization behind it have opted for a no-nonsense and self explanatory name — Pan Desuyo! (This is Bread!). Which is perhaps as well, because on first inspection it may not be immediately obvious.
In a rare act of bovine bravery, a courageous cow escaped from a slaughterhouse on Sunday morning, evading local police officers and taking out an abattoir worker in the process.
Perhaps sensing that it wasn’t going to be another lazy day standing in a field eating grass, the 730-kilogramme animal shocked the town of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture with its bold bid for freedom; leading a group of over 20 policemen on a 6-kilometre chase. An audacious act that sadly ended in tragedy, with the 3-year-old beast dying after running headfirst into a metal fence.
The cow’s daring decampment however garnered little sympathy from Masashi Kitabayashi, a local police official. The callous cop matter-of-factly saying, “I don’t know whether it will be processed into meat or not.”
With its latest creation, snack manufacturer Lotte appears to be making a bid to become king of the not-quite-summer-so-still-not-all-that-hot drinks market, a notoriously tricky time of year with conditions favouring neither hot or cold beverages.
Moderately cold being the ideal temperature for consumption apparently.
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.
