‘Can cost more than bluefin tuna’: how Japan’s most expensive foods – from wasabi to pufferfish to mangoes – are produced
- Communities around Japan harvest some of the most expensive fruit, vegetables and seafood, including crown melons, matsutake mushrooms and sea urchins
- The harvesting processes increase these items’ prices, since they can be lengthy, risky, and costly
Communities throughout Japan harvest some of the most exquisite fruit, vegetables, and seafood. Despite the high prices, there’s still significant demand around the world.
These high price tags are the result of lengthy, risky or costly cultivation processes.
Here are eight Japanese products that don’t come cheap.
1. Wasabi
Wasabi is known for being incredibly difficult to grow commercially, and the process of growing real wasabi in Japan contributes to its hefty price tag.
The only place it can be found growing naturally is along Japanese mountain streams.
Specific conditions such as amount of shade, temperature, and soil minerals must be met for these plants to thrive. They need a constant supply of running spring water and can only tolerate temperatures between eight degrees and 20 degrees Celsius.