Protected local food
Yubari Melon
夕張メロン
Yubari Melon is grown only in Yubari City, Hokkaido. It is the Yubari King variety, with soft, juicy orange flesh and a strong scent.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 22 December 2015
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Official name in Japanese
- 夕張メロン
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 北海道夕張市
Why only Yubari
Yubari sits among mountains and hills in Hokkaido. Days are warm and nights are cool, it rains little, and the volcanic ash soil drains well. Growers say a melon this good can't be grown anywhere else, and only melons from Yubari City may use the name.
The fruit is the Yubari King variety. The flesh is orange, has little fibre and is very soft, and every melon sold under the name has a sugar level of at least 10 degrees Brix.
Good to know
- Ask the shop which melon is ripe and when to eat it. A ripe melon smells strong and gives a little at the bottom.
- Eat it during your trip. If you want to take fresh fruit home, check your country's plant quarantine rules before you pack it.
Questions travellers ask
What does Yubari Melon taste like?
Very soft, juicy orange flesh with a strong, sweet scent. It is the Yubari King variety, with at least 10 degrees Brix.
Is every orange melon from Hokkaido a Yubari Melon?
No. Only melons grown in Yubari City under the registered rules can use the name.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Coal, steel and port: Hokkaido's northern industrial revolution
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Masuda: a medieval masterpiece of Japan
- Otaru, the heart of Hokkaido: a merchant city saved by its people
- Sacred land of salmon: 10,000 years on the Nemuro Strait
- Takaoka: the castle town that became a merchant town
- The Kamikawa Ainu: living with the kamuy of Daisetsuzan
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.