I live here in Japan, and I would just say that this is not a common/popular thing, in fact I would say that the majority of people here have heard of it and few people have tried it. And while it is apparently a local dish of Osaka near where I live, it is far from well known here. That said, thank you for featuring such a neat article, just be careful when you claim something is 'popular' in Japan. It is far from common or ordinary here and many Japanese people would be very surprised to hear it even exists or that you can even eat them.

I think it is worth pointing out that while the 100 dollar cherries or 30-100 dollar melons and the sort are not entirely uncommon here in Japan, that more reasonably priced fruit is also available. And also, while ridiculously high priced fruit auctions like this hit the news every once in a while, these prices are more about giving rich CEOs and the sort a chance to flaunt their riches around in public than about the desire to eat delicious fruit.