The town of Higashiura in Aichi Prefecture has said that two giant pieces of rock salt that it posted on the flea market app Mercari were sold for a total of ¥420,000 ($2,690).

The blocks of rock salt, one weighing about 2.5 metric tons and the other about 3 metric tons, attracted a lot of media attention when the town first posted them on the app in April last year as part of its efforts to sell unneeded items from the town hall.

The rock salt blocks were purchased by a man living in the city of Fukuoka on Tuesday and are expected to be delivered to him by the end of the month.

He plans to display them at his shop in Yukuhashi, Fukuoka Prefecture, that sells Japanese yams.

The town of Higashiura initially posted the blocks on Mercari priced at ¥300,000 each. A buyer didn't emerge, so in November the town lowered their asking price and began promoting them in a local trade fair and elsewhere.

"We have been working hard to promote their sale," said a town official. "I would miss (the salt blocks) but I'm really happy that they now have a place to shine."

The town purchased the salt blocks, which originally come from Germany and the United States, in conjunction with the opening of the local museum in 1999. They had been exhibited but were moved to a warehouse when the exhibit content changed in 2019.

Translated by The Japan Times