●Nathan Shiga: August 20, 2017

Make a guess – can or can’t a watermelon weigh nearly 80 kilos or over 170 lbs? In fact, it sure can. A giant watermelon weighing jut as much won the grand prix a local produce contest in my hometown Okegawa, Saitama.

I’ve known of this contest and its site, Bebubana Furusatokan (“Hometown Villa of Benibana”) 10 minutes walk from my home. The “villa” is really a traditional provincial house converted into a public space
a traditional farmer’s house-converted into a public space where cool events take place all year around.

The Giant Watermelon Contest is slated annually this time of the year under the auspices of a group of local watermelon farmers to play up Okegawa – the home of Giant Watermelon.

Every year in May, free seedlings of Carolina Cross are given out to potential contestants with a sheet of rearing instructions. It’s a popular species from the US used mainly for cow feed and occasionally for ornaments.

This summer being too wet for the watermelon, the exhibits were 20% fewer than average summers and the size a lot smaller.

The medal-winning 78-kilo watermelon is the gem of a local 67-year-old male, who says it had taken him “lots of time and effort to grow a melon that big”. Grinning, he adds: “I sure hope to have as many people as possible to just to take a look at it”.

The medal-winning watermelon is exhibited at the Benibana Fususatokan till August 20.

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