Day 10 Dainichi

I woke up to a beautiful day and the views across the valley were stunning.I was already packed and ready to check out as my final morning would be spent at Dainichi Koi Farm.

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It was a morning coffee and a chat with Futoshi Mano before taking the short walk to his tosai house where one pond of about 200 koi would be netted for me, all these koi were sexed recently and all were female but they would be checked again after my selection.

I had fifteen koi in total and then it was time for the sexing to be done.I wanted to learn more about sexing of koi as this is a very big issue at home at the moment,I watched carefully as each Koi was checked first the gills and pectoral fins.

Then the vent is checked after this any doubt and the Koi is rejected, only one koi out of fifteen was rejected.

The reject a shame because the quality was excellent.Here are the fourteen that are female, all these koi will come with certificates and photographs.

 

Buying high quality koi at Dainichi always gives you a good feeling, you know the quality of the koi you are buying and the potential they have,there have been many memorable days on this trip buying Koi, but also alot of time spent talking with many breeders in the South and in Niigata more information about these meetings will be made clear in the next few weeks and will be posted to all subscribers.Detailed information on customer trips to Japan and new products will follow.

 

 

The start of my journey home.

Day 9

I checked out of my hotel as tonight I would be staying at the Hotel Sanrolla,I had not stayed here before as it is set in the Hills and not close to any shops , restaurants or train station. I went to several farms today, but I shall list the main ones of interest.

Oofuchi had many nisai available and I selected the following koi all between 30 and 40cm and great value. 

 

 

 

 

Next it was to Maruju a high quality farm for Goshiki, Budo Goromo ,Showa and others. In his main Tosai house he has some stunning Tosai unfortunately these were not available to select today but we did have time to chat and discuss many things including his parent koi which he bowled some for me and details of he spawning practice which he will start later this month.

 

 

Parent Koi 

 

Later that day brief appointments were made at Igareshi Kazuto, Hirasawa and Yagenji,then it was back to the Hotel to collect my bags and go to the Hotel Sanrolla Rolan a popular hotel with the Japanese lying in the hills in Kawaguchi. 

Tomorrow is my final day and will be meeting Mano Futoshi of Dainichi Koi Farm at 9am

Day 8 Going to Niigata

I Left the hotel very early for the last time to take the 7am flight from Okayama to Haneda. It was only a one hour flight and on arriving was met by Nobuaki and Yasushi two people I first met at the Oishi Koi Farm auction last year, who would be arranging for me to spent more time with some breeders in Niigata to gain better knowledge and to improve my search for very high quality koi during future visits.

On arriving in Niigata it was lunch at a noodles bar then a visit to Izumiya one of the most famous men in Niigata and the current President of the Shinkokai after a good meeting with him and arranging for some Yamabuki at this years harvest it was off to his Tosai house..



















 

It was very good of Mano Izumiya to personally select some koi for me and I learnt much about selecting small Tosai

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Next it was to Isa Koi farm a breeder of very high quality Showa.After a drink and a chat he showed me his best Female Oyagoi (parent fish) and gave me some information about his breeding schedule and said he will contact me regarding the best times to arrive during the Harvest.I thanked him for his time and then it was to Shinoda for some tosai that had been arranged for me to select. There were about 200 koi in total and I selected one box.Isa's best Female parent Showa

Shinoda Tosai 

After a busy day it was back to the hotel and straight out for diner. Tonight I would be meeting with Hoshikin, one of the youngest Koi Farm Presidents in Niigata. There was much discussion about Hoshikins koi and a possible visit to England later this year. 

 

One of Hoshikins parent koi 

Hoshikin is very famous amoungst top hobbyists in Japan for producing superb pattened Jumbo Tosai Kohaku with excellent white skin. I was shown some of his tosai that will be going to the mud ponds later this month and was very impressed, he then took me to his main fish house and showed me some of his Oyagoi, you can see the pride he has in these koi and the determination he has to produce better and better koi.

I hope tomorrow brings results as pleasing as today.

Day 7 Momotaro Auction

It was only a 30minute drive to Momotaro Koi Farm and the Auction was due to start at 10am,just enough time for a chat with other dealers as we looked over the 60 koi that were to be sold.















A brief introduction was made explaining that all the koi will remain with Momotaro until harvest time when they will all be judged and the trophies will be provided by one of Japans most famous pottery artists.












The auction started and the Sanke were the first to go, followed by Kohaku and Showa, the procedure is very simple,you are given a wooden spoon with your Auction number and you all raise your spoon and the last person to keep his hand raised buys the koi, it all happens very quick. You dont have to worry about understanding the price it is easy to follow`with all the prices on a board and somebody pointing at them as the price is called, but turn away and you may have missed the koi you want.











The koi are pushed up and down between the customers while the bidding takes place




It didnt take long and the auction had finished in just under two hours, other cheaper koi were also sold and were taken by the dealer.







I will be returning later this year to see the development of these Tosai and the judging. By 12pm everything had been sold the barbeque was lit and then a couple of hours of koi chatting before I left to go back for my Tosai Sanke.









I thanked President Maeda for inviting me to the auction and to have the opportunity to buy some fantastic koi




I selected this small Tosai from a pond of about 80 koi, growing small Tosai is only possible from some breeders if you buy their best, so only time will tell how well I have done,all Tosai have a risk involved but if you buy well the the reward can be superb.After a superb day it was back to the hotel as tomorrow I would be leaving early for Niigata.

If you want to see any of the koi in the auction they are still on the Momotro website at http://www.momotaro-koi.org/english/

Day 6

Not a koi day today had a few appointments in Hiroshima but I did have time to go to Matsue Nishikigoi Centre in Shimane, he had some superb Tategoi Tosai and Nisai but they had all been sold, he did however take the time to bowl a couple of Tosai and a Yonsai, and we had a good chat about his koi and discussed my return later this year .




After lunch I purchased some smaller tosai and looked forward to visiting again .I arrived back at my Hotel late that evening and managed to spend a few minutes looking at the Momotaro Auction web site before the internet failed again!

Day 5 Sanke Day

Woke up to a beautiful day and a great view of the Momotaro Stadium,
































The first farm to visit was Oishi Koi Farm,I would be here most of the day as he had several tosai ponds with some superb koi for sale, First selection were these high quality Sanke and a few Kohaku.Thirty Eight in total were purchased and more pictures will be available soon.




I have been to Oishi koi farm many times over the past 18 months and have wanted to buy some of his best koi for a while, he is very famous in Japan and sells out very quickly,I was fortunate to have one pond of about 100 left for me to select from, the remaining 85 would be graded and a high percentage would be put into the mudpond until November.The quality of these koi is superb anybody who has seen the Oishi Koi at the shop we know how good they are..More Pics Click here

























All the koi were photographed and measured and certificates will be issued.Further information about these koi will be sent to all subscribers during June















After an excellent few hours at Oishi Koi Farm it was an hours drive to another top quality Sanke breeder.He also has one of the largest collections of Bonsai's I have seen.




My last two visits here were ok but I was looking for some very high grade Sankes I knew he produced. I did see some high quality San sai and Yonsai and an amazing (hachisai) 8 years Sanke 92cm



There were some nice tosai and nisai but not what I was looking for so after about 40 minutes it was time for a coffee, with no where else to go there was no rush ,so plenty of time to look at the koi magazines and chat.After a few minutes a showed him pictures of the type of Sanke I like and asked him the best time to visit him at harvest.He liked the Sanke I showed him and then got up and said this way. Twenty minutes later I had photgraphed and bowled 4 superb Sansai and Yonsai ,the quality in these koi was stunning and everything I hoped to see.I told him I would return in the Harvest and look forward to buying some Female Nisai from him.Then he asked would I like to grow on a Tosai from his Tategoi tank.My answer was an immediate yes and it was decided to return after the Momotaro Auction on the 15th as the light had now faded.








The yonsai



It was a long day but a good one , its just a shame that it has taken me so long to load this Blog,I am now in Niigata staying in Ojiya,with excellent connection.So i hope to update a lot more over the next few days.,

Day 4

A few pictures today as I travelled from Okayama to Ehime on Shikoku Island,I have been to a number of farms in this area and today I would be meeting with Garyu, a very friendly and genorous breeder who produces superb Kumonryu,Harawake and Showa and has offered to take me to a good friend of his who produces many top show winning koi.

The main bridge linking Shikoku Island and the main land,Completed in 1988 the construction went on for 9 years and costing over 1 trillion yen making it one of the greatest engineering feats of the century. The bridge measures 12.3km in total with the part of the water measuring 9.4km.The railwayline runs beneath the main road.

The gardens and shops












Arrived at Garyu koi farm after lunch and selected a few tosai












Not a busy Koi buying day today but a good one meeting new people,tomorrow I will visit 2 farms the first being Oishi Koi Farm where I have some very interesting tosai Sanke waiting for me.Then on to see a very good Sanke breeder near Okayama,very famous for his Bonsai's also!.

Day 3

Back to Sakuma's first thing to photograph my customers koi but they were proving a little difficult to find........
the search continued!...

and continued.....then finally they were bowled.



A superb Gin Rin Showa Nisai and Gin Rin Sanke Sansai.Both these koi will be remain in Japan until harvest time.





Time for a quick chat and coffee



Back to Isawaonsen station at 12.30pm for the journey to Okayama,unfortunately there wasnt time to experience the new foot spar built outside that was being enjoyed by Japanese travellers.



Arrived at Okayama at 6.30pm and went straight to the Hotel which would be my base for the next 4 days.

Day 2

Woke up far too early, just didnt want to miss the 7am Train to Isawaonsen where I would be meeting Toshi Nakamori and Hajime Sakuma.It was raining heavy but hoped it would be the usual sunny weather when I got to Sakuma koi farm.

Yes it was still raining and first I would be going to Hiroi Koi farm for small small Tosai




















I left Hiroi's at about 10.30 and had a 5 minute drive to Sakuma Koi Farm, Sakuma had already selected his best Jumbo Tosai for me and also recently harvested one of his Jumbo Tosai growing on ponds,I was really looking forward to seeing some great koi his Jumbo Tosai are getting bigger every year ,average size this year is an amazing 40cm.



A few of the Tosai Selected.More Pics Click here





















Last year I selected 2 Jumbo tosai to be grown on until the Harvest, this year I have done the same, both of these Showa are female and 40cm, Hajame Sakuma estimates that these could be about 55 to 60 cm in October,The First showa has a great body shape and good development already, the second in Hajame's opinion will be the bigger Koi who am I to argue but I look forward to the results in 6 months time.






We would return the next day to bowl and photograph a customers koi purchased during last years harvest trip and to select a few more cheaper Tosai, these pictures will be shown on the Koi Waterlife website under "blog". It was then back to the Hotel (some of you will be familier with this Hotel),to check e-mails and get ready for dinner at the Local Chinese, during this meal Hajame told of some new parent koi he will be breeding from very soon.Another early start the next day and then the long journey to Okayama.


More Pics Click here

Day 1

Day 1







Arrived at Narita Airport early evening and after a short journey on the Narita Express arrived at my Hotel in shinjuku at about 10pm,Just time to sort out a few e-mails before going to bed as tomorrow would be an early start.






DAY 1

Customer Trips To Japan

Customer trips to Japan

Nishikigoi

Nishikigoi, commonly referred to as "Koi" are the national fish of Japan, therefore the fish's name is derived from the Japanese language.

"Nishiki" is the Japanese word used to describe a highly coloured cloth. "Goi or Koi" is the Japanese name for carp. Together, therefore "Nishikigoi" is derived from coloured carp.

However, as koi keeping has become more popular throughout the world, people now refer to these species as "Koi".

Nishikigoi, commonly referred to as "Koi" are the national fish of Japan, therefore the fish's name is derived from the Japanese language. "Nishiki" is the Japanese word used to describe a highly coloured cloth. "Goi or Koi" is the Japanese name for carp.

Together, therefore "Nishikigoi" is derived from coloured carp. However, as koi keeping has become more popular throughout the world, people now refer to these species as "Koi".Nishikigoi, commonly referred to as "Koi" are the national fish of Japan, therefore the fish's name is derived from the Japanese language. "Nishiki" is the Japanese word used to describe a highly coloured cloth. "Goi or Koi" is the Japanese name for carp. Together, therefore "Nishikigoi" is derived from coloured carp. However, as koi keeping has become more popular throughout the world, people now refer to these species as "Koi".