When I’m travelling I’m often asked about life in Japan and one of things that surprises people most is the cost of fruit.  Not all fruit in Japan is incredibly expensive but fruit given as a gift or fruit that’s just come into season is.  I had told people in Orlando that I expected pears to arrive in the stores soon and that they would probably be around $5 each but the first pears of the season are just over $7 each this year.

My local department store also had a gift fruit section that contains mangoes that cost around $40 each. As you can imagine I won’t be buying pears or mangoes any time soon.