Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the largest producer of melons in Japan, has begun shipping its specialty spring melons.
Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is the No. 1 producer of melons in Japan by city, town, or village, with an output of 7.53 billion yen according to Ototoshi no Kuni statistics.
Shipping of spring melons, which have a sweet and refreshing aftertaste, has begun in the city this month.
Of these, approximately 30 tons of freshly harvested spring melons were brought to the melon sorting facility at JA Ibaraki Asahi Village on the 5th.
At the fruit sorting plant, the melons were checked one by one to make sure there were no blemishes, and then the melons were sorted using optical sensors for their sugar content and size, and machines were used to box them one after another.
According to JA, many of the melons are small in size due to a series of low temperatures in March this year, but once the weather stabilizes, it is expected that as many melons as usual will be shipped. That's it.
Shun Enuma, Chairman of the JA Ibaraki Asahi Village Melon Department, said, ``This year, we have been having a hard time managing the temperature, but I think we have been able to produce sweet and delicious melons.We control each melon using a light sensor and ship it out. I really want people to try it," he said.
Hokota City's spring melon harvest will continue until the end of June, with different varieties being harvested, and will be shipped to markets not only within the prefecture but also around Tokyo and the Kansai region.