A giant bunch of Japanese grapes recently sold for almost $1000 at an auction in Ishikawa. The Ruby Roman variety, developed by the Ishikawa Prefecture Agricultural Research Center, was sold to an upscale hotel owner on Monday. The single bunch, consisting of 30 grapes each slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, were described as "delicious: sweet but fresh at the same time, very well balanced," by Agricultural official Hirofumi Isu. At that price they better be!
Watermelon is one of the signature fruits of summer, and although (considering today's economy) I'm willing to pay more for it than I used to I'm not so sure I'd be willing to pay upwards of $6,000 for a single melon! But at least one man in Japan was as he bid on and won an auction for a 17lb Densuke watermelon for a whopping $6,100. Despite the fact that watermelon is considered a luxury in Japan and that this particular kind of melon only grows in one place (on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan), this auction marks the highest selling price ever for a watermelon in Japan, and most likely the world.
Imari porcelain is one of the most striking styles of Japanese porcelain. The style originated circa 1616 in the city of Arita and the porcelain ware was distributed to Japanese locations through the northern Kyushu port of Imari. The traditional color palette for Imari porcelain is very vivid with an underglaze of cobalt blue, and overglaze of iron red and details in gold paint. Sometimes green and yellow polychrome enamel colors were also used as accents. The rich ornamental look of Imari porcelain is reminiscent of the brocading of Japanese textiles. Next month, Flying Cranes Antiques (located in galleries 55, 56 and 58 in The Manhattan Art and Antiques Center, 1050 Second Avenue at 55th St - NY, NY 10022), will feature a display of Japanese Imari porcelains. Exhibited for sale will be rare forms executed in the rich palette characteristic of the ware. The Flying Cranes Antiques Imari porcelain collection includes various forms: bottle shapes, vases, covered jars, foliate plates dating circa 1850-1880. The cost range for the exhibition is in the $800 to $15,000 with many pieces in the $1,000-2,500 range. Shown here is one of the exhibition pieces - a Japanese Imari porcelain shell-form plate (19th Century - Circa 1850-1880 which has a price of $2,200.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about wine baron Bernard Magrez's recent wine moves, selling off estates in Bordeaux and picking up more land in Chile. Now in a move that is really intriguing, he as picked up a vineyard on the slopes of Mount Fuji in Japan. This makes Magrez the first French wine player to set up shop in the country. He has purchased a small six hectare domain (close to 15 acres). He plans to produce a high-end white wine. Magrez owns 35 vineyards on four continents.
Softbank Mobile is in the process of launching their new line of 15 cell phones, one of which was created in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. Japan Inc. The new handset is encrusted with more than 400 diamonds totaling 20+ carats and will cost about $94,000. For that kind of money I hope it looks better in person than in any of the pictures I've been able to find!
The phone is available starting this month in Japan, with the complete line of new phones to be launched by the end of March.
We've covered a $150,000 hotel offer in New York but if your Christmas travels take you to Japan, you can hole up in the a luxury hotel in Tokyo for a one-of-a-kind Christmas that costs $130,000. The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is offering a Christmas suite that is decorated with a small tree with diamonds. The package also includes a bath with fresh roses, vintage champagne, and a breakfast with truffles. The package comes with limo service, a spa treatment and a gourmet dinner that is served in the dining room of the presidential suite. Much of the money you spend you get to take home with you, in the form of diamond jewelry worth around $108,000.
For just about every holiday the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo comes up with something lavishly excessive. For Christmas the Japanese department store is offering a Christmas tree with 400 diamonds. The tree doesn't look like any traditional tannenbaum, it is a small tower of preserved roses with 100 carats of diamonds from southern Africa and Australia. The tree sells for 200.7 million yen (around $1.8 million) and comes with the matching little red teddy bear. The tree is based on a design by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud and looks to contain bracelets, earrings, and butterfly pins as well as a necklace on the teddy bear.
When I first heard the name Willow Chair I pictured a softer looking design with rounded or flowing shapes, but in reality the focus is on vertical and horizontal lines. Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 for The Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow, it's inspired by his interest in Japanese design. You can see the shape of a tree formed by the checkers and straight lines of the chair back, and now available from Design Icons it's made of black lacquered ash with a cushion of leather, velvet, or cotton. £1155
Dom Perignon champagne bottles are going for 1.26 million yen (about $11,005) a bottle in Nagoya's Sakae-ku at the Matsuzakaya Department Store. The store started selling them this past Wednesday and the reason these particular Dom Perignon's are so expensive is that they're part of a limited group of 100 bottles available worldwide that are vintage 1995, which is considered a good year. 20 of the bottles are slotted to be sold in Japan, with the first 5 being sold at Matsuzakaya. Of course the bottles are not only numbered, but are also "elaborately wrapped" to help attract customers, and so far 1 bottle has been sold.
People pay money for water every day, even though it's free in the majority of places on Earth. So if we're already paying for it, why not pay a lot for it, right? Well that's apparently the philosophy of the Japanese, who for a while now have been making big business of buying very expensive desalinated seawater concentrate from off the coasts of Hawaii. Called Kona Nigari, it sells for $33.50 per two-ounce bottle of concentrate and is meant to be diluted in a bottle of regular water (add $1.99 to the bill). It's credited with aiding weight loss, stress reduction, skin tone, and digestion. And apparently this Hawaiian seawater is special -- people pay more for the Kona Nigari than for similar concentrates from waters closer to Japan.
If your Hello Kitty collection already includes the $30,000 dog bed, the one-of-a-kind platinum figurine, the $50,000 diamond pendant and the Fender guitar, then maybe, just maybe, you are ready for the $66,000 Swarovski crystal-encrusted Maneki Neko Hello Kitty doll. It's quite large and looks not at all cuddly, but how can you not want it? Those eyes, that red bow cocked just so on the enormous head - you are powerless to resist the cuteness that is HK. This sparkly version of the popular feline is posed as a maneki neko, which is a good money fortune symbol in Japan. Covered with with 62,000 Swarovski crystal beads, the sparkly kitty is currently on display at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. Buy her and she will bring you riches.
These are just darling, don't you think? They're the latest stick type mp3 players/USB drives from Sony. Available in a beautiful mix of pastel colors (blue, gold, pink, and violet) and black (classy), the cap is covered with a design in Swarovski crystals. Sony has announced that the 'NW-E010 series' will be available by the end of next month in the Japanese market (they get everything first it seems!) and no word on when they might make an appearance here in the U.S. Pricing is expected to be around 18,800 yen for the 2GB versions and 24,800 yen for 4GB.
It's hard to find the perfect suit, but this gold weave suit out of Japan is apparently "better than feeling a million diamonds" and "like swimming in gold." Well it's more than "like" swimming in gold -- if you get in the water while wearing this baby you actually are swimming in gold -- the precious metal is woven right into the fabric. Valued at $82,000 the suit goes through a month-long weaving process where gold fibers about the size of a human hair are incorporated into the material. And also available in the same sparkling golden fabric is an even more expensive long dress valued at $243,900.
I wonder if they're scratchy or silky? And an important note from the designers on the swimsuit: it's not meant to go in the water.
Described as looking like something growing up out of the forest floor (a flower bud in KuKunochi to be exact), the Tsubomi chair fits its inspiration of a bright future quite well. Warm, inviting, and fluid in design, any room featuring this chair will need fewer decorative accents as it has the artistic look of a sculpture, albeit an upholstered one. Created by the 3 person design team Leif.designpark based in Japan, Tsubomi draws greatly on Japanese culture and history for its inspiration, meaning, and appearance.
The Web Time Series Elite Watch is, in my opinion, probably more of a conversation piece than a convenient way to tell the time -- which you do by looking where the colored lines intersect with the numbered lines (the hour on the top, the minutes on the bottom). Available in Aqua (blue resin) or Satsuma (orange resin) it boasts Super 2035 inner workings, a 4 year battery, and a hidden butterfly clasp on the strap. I won't deny it looks awesome, though I think the frustration of using it may increase your risk for migraines (so use it at your own risk!). ¥16,800, $169.
A giant bunch of Japanese grapes recently sold for almost $1000 at an auction in Ishikawa. The Ruby Roman variety, developed by the Ishikawa Prefecture Agricultural Research Center, was sold to an upscale hotel owner on Monday. The single bunch, consisting of 30 grapes each slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, were described as "delicious: sweet but fresh at the same time, very well balanced," by Agricultural official Hirofumi Isu. At that price they better be! 
Softbank Mobile is in the process of launching their new line of 15 cell phones, one of which was created in collaboration with Tiffany & Co. Japan Inc. The new handset is encrusted with more than 400 diamonds totaling 20+ carats and will cost about $94,000. For that kind of money I hope it looks better in person than in any of the pictures I've been able to find!
We've covered a $150,000 hotel offer in New York but if your Christmas travels take you to Japan, you can hole up in the a luxury hotel in Tokyo for a one-of-a-kind Christmas that costs $130,000. The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is offering a Christmas suite that is decorated with a small tree with diamonds. The package also includes a bath with fresh roses, vintage champagne, and a breakfast with truffles. The package comes with limo service, a spa treatment and a gourmet dinner that is served in the dining room of the presidential suite. Much of the money you spend you get to take home with you, in the form of diamond jewelry worth around $108,000.
Dom Perignon champagne bottles are going for 1.26 million yen (about $11,005) a bottle in Nagoya's Sakae-ku at the Matsuzakaya Department Store. The store started selling them this past Wednesday and the reason these particular Dom Perignon's are so expensive is that they're part of a limited group of 100 bottles available worldwide that are vintage 1995, which is considered a good year. 20 of the bottles are slotted to be sold in Japan, with the first 5 being sold at Matsuzakaya. Of course the bottles are not only numbered, but are also "elaborately wrapped" to help attract customers, and so far 1 bottle has been sold.
People pay money for water every day, even though it's free in the majority of places on Earth. So if we're already paying for it, why not pay a lot for it, right? Well that's apparently the philosophy of the Japanese, who for a while now have been making big business of buying very expensive desalinated seawater concentrate from off the coasts of Hawaii. Called Kona Nigari, it sells for $33.50 per two-ounce bottle of concentrate and is meant to be diluted in a bottle of regular water (add $1.99 to the bill). It's credited with aiding weight loss, stress reduction, skin tone, and digestion. And apparently this Hawaiian seawater is special -- people pay more for the Kona Nigari than for similar concentrates from waters closer to Japan. 
