Pastèque noir

A black jumbo watermelon produced in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido is on sale for 630,000 yen (US$ 5,945) at Tokyo's Isetan department store Friday, June 6, 2008 shortly after being flown into Tokyo, some 500 miles south of Hokkaido, following its bidding earlier in the day. The 24-pounder (11 kilograms) premium Densuke is the biggest among the first of 65 sold as part of the season's initial harvest and another Densuke that weighs 17-pound (8-kilogram) has fetched a record 650,000 yen ($6,100), making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country — and possibly the world.

(((03))) (TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press)