JAPAN - Isn’t it about time that fruits become a form of currency in Japan? The latest extraordinary item to go on auction is none other than Japan’s Ruby Roman grapes, otherwise known as one of the world’s most expensive fruits.

Late last week, we reported that high demand for California grapes kept prices above average, but those estimates are pint-sized if you ask Japanese auctioneers. A single Ruby Roman grape can easily cost someone well over a hundred dollars. On Saturday, a wedding hall operator in Ishikawa won a bunch of thirty fresh Ruby Roman grapes, each costing about $180 a pop for a grand total of a whopping $5,400, according to The Japan Times. If you happen to have a wealthy relative living in Japan, send some extras my way!     

“I was surprised to see a higher price than I had originally imagined, but I would like bridal couples to savor them and have a special memory,” public broadcaster NHK reported the hall owner as saying.

The bunch weighed about 800 grams (28 ounces) total, with individual grapes sizing up to around 1.2 inches in diameter.

Having now been in the market for about six years, these top notch grapes have made quite a name for themselves in Japan. According to Wall Street Journal, a grape can only be called a Ruby Roman if it weighs at least 20 grams, exceeds 18% in sugar content, and its coloring resembles a cherry tomato-red hue. That’s just one class of Ruby Roman, however. The “premium class” Ruby Roman grapes must weigh at least 30 grams, with the bunch overall weighing a minimum 700 grams.

If there are people out there willing to buy grapes and other luxurious fruit in Japan for such extravagant prices, I gotta get in this business already!