Tournament to compete for the weight of huge pumpkin Takahashi Okayama September 13 21:43
A competition was held in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture, to compete for the weight of a huge pumpkin that weighs more than 200 kg.
This tournament is held every year by a group of residents of Takahashi City, who are aiming to revitalize the area by utilizing abandoned cultivated land.
On the 13th, group members and people from all over Okayama Prefecture brought 20 pumpkins of the "Atlantic Giant" variety, which had been raised since this spring, to the venue.
The variety is known to grow huge when fertilized in large quantities, and members used forklifts to carry pumpkins to "scales" and carefully weigh them one by one.
As a result of weighing, the heaviest pumpkin was raised by Masahiro Miyazaki with a waist circumference of about 3 meters and a weight of 250.2 kilograms.
Mr. Miyazaki said, "I was surprised because I didn't think I could win the championship for the first time. I want to make a pumpkin that is about 100 kg heavier next year."
In addition, Norimin Yamamoto, chairman of the "Takayama City Jumbo Pumpkin Group" that held the tournament, said, "I would like young people to participate in pumpkin making and make huge pumpkins a local specialty."