--- description: That's about $360 per grape title: Bunch Of Grapes Sells For $10,900 In Japan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef40f1cac0144bc/69889af9e20a87d0b8a91831/ap_350897268575.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # World's Most Expensive Grapes? Bunch Sells For $10,900 In Japan by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2016 3:12 PM CUT  Ruby Roman table grapes at a wholesale market in the central Japanese city of Kanazawa on Photo taken July 7, 2016\. The grapes sold for a record-high 1.1 million yen ($10,900) at an auction. Ruby Roman table grapes at a wholesale market in the central Japanese city of Kanazawa on Photo taken July 7, 2016\. The grapes sold for a record-high 1.1 million yen ($10,900) at an auction.Kyodo—Kyodo by [Abigail Abrams](/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2016 3:12 PM CUT Think grapes are expensive at your local grocery store? They’ve got nothing on this bunch. A bunch of about 30 grapes in Japan [sold for 1.1 million yen](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3678748/Giant-Japanese-grapes-fetch-10-900-auction.html "undefined"), or $10,900, on Thursday, the AFP reported. That’s over $360 per grape. The grapes are the Ruby Roman variety, which means they were grown in the Ishikawa prefecture and had to weigh at least 20 grams and have a sugar content of 18%. They are typically around the size of ping pong balls. People in Japan often pay high pieces for seasonal fruit, but Thursday’s sale was a record high. The sale marked the beginning of auction season for Ruby Romans in Japan, so more fruit is likely to fetch high prices this summer. The winner of the $10,9000 grapes promised to give out a few grapes to lucky customers. “These are truly Ruby Roman gems,” the buyer, Takamaru Konishi, told the press. “We will display them at our store before giving our customers a sample taste.” Other fruit has sold for high prices in Japan, where the sweet treats can be seen as a status symbol. A pair of melons, the most prized fruit in the country, sold for 1.5 million yen at an auction last year, the [Guardian reported](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/07/bunch-of-grapes-sold-for-8350-in-japan "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4396473/expensive-grapes-japan-auction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4396473/expensive-grapes-japan-auction/"},"headline":"World's Most Expensive Grapes? Bunch Sells For $10,900 In Japan","datePublished":"2016-07-07T15:12:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:52:37.786Z","description":"That's about $360 per grape","url":"https://time.com/4396473/expensive-grapes-japan-auction/","keywords":["Japan","fruit"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef40f1cac0144bc/69889af9e20a87d0b8a91831/ap_350897268575.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abigail Abrams","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef40f1cac0144bc/69889af9e20a87d0b8a91831/ap_350897268575.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ruby Roman grapes fetch record 1.1 mil. yen in season's 1st auction","caption":"Ruby Roman grapes fetch record 1.1 mil. yen in season's 1st auction","creditText":"Kyodo—Kyodo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4396473/expensive-grapes-japan-auction/","name":"World's Most Expensive Grapes? Bunch Sells For $10,900 In Japan"}}]}] ```