A pair of highly sought-after small matsutake mushrooms weighing only 120 grams were sold for 120,000 yen ($1,170) at the Tsukiji wholesale market in Tokyo on April 21. That is the equivalent of one million yen ($9753) per kilogram. The two small mushrooms arrived at the famous Japanese Tsukiji market from Ehime Prefecture. These mushrooms were the first shipment from Ehime Prefecture. The auction was conducted based on a price per kilogram. The two small mushrooms were placed in a small box for auction and within a second drew a bid of one million yen ($9753) per kilogram. The mushrooms was bought Tsukiji-Kushiya- Japanese wholesaler.
Matsutake mushrooms, extremely sought after in Japan are usually shipped in the autumn. However, they are sometimes shipped in spring when the ground temperatures and humidity in the mountains become similar to what is usually experienced during the fall. The mushrooms are then called samatsu, which literally means early matsutake. There are cooks who want to buy the first samatsu by any means, and there are customers who want to eat them by any means.

