Hokkaido melons fetch $25,000 in auction, 2nd highest bid

A pair of premium melons in Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido fetched 3.5 million yen ($25,000) at the year's first auction on Thursday, securing the event's second highest bid on record.

The bid for the melons grown in the city of Yubari exceeded the previous year's by 500,000 yen but failed to top the record bid of 5 million yen in 2019.