Stand in Awe of Tokyo's $100 Melons

Nestled on the bottom floors of a Tokyo shopping mall is a curious and fairly amazing shrine to fruit. Melons and Asian pears rest behind sliding glass doors, protected with the same amount of care as ancient relics; plump strawberries peep out from gift boxes like golfball-sized rubies.

This is the outpost of luxury-edibles vendor Sun Fruits, a Japanese firm devoted to curating the ultimate in fruit-based experiences. The company has been around in one form or another since 1925, although there was an "interruption" during the "chaotic period" of World War II, according to its website. I had wandered into its tony HQ during a recent trip, drawn by the visages of perfectly formed apples and cantaloupes – but really more by the price tags, which are utterly insane.