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Gallery • Autumn 2005 • Back
Our Arrival

We were at our Hotel in Nagaoka at around 2:30pm and were met straight away by Fujio Oomo. Very glad to see him again we were taken to his new mudpond complex where Ricky was going to be harvesting one of the largest mud ponds. After this we went to Matsunoske and were shown some incredible Sansai ( 3 years ) but the prices ranged from 1 million yen. Straight after visiting here we went stright to Igarashi Kazuto a very high class breeder and a lot of his stock was already sold out and what was available wasn't quite to our taste. By now we were on our last legs, totally exhausted so we returned to the hotel and we had around 13 hours sleep that evening (lovely).

Day 1

Today saw a change of guide for us. Fujio was busy for 1 day with Malaysian customers so he dropped us off at Kaneko Koi Farm. Here we spent several hours Negotiating with Kaneko san directly and selecting koi. We purchased around 25 pieces of Nissai from here as well as one very High grade Sansai Shiro Utsuri which Ricky selected. The fish was one of the best in the fish house and Kaneko san made this very clear to me. All of the koi mentioned here can be seen below or by clicking the link above. After Kaneko's father Komei san had taken us for a guided your of the secret tategoi ponds we were driven to Yomogihira to Marusyo koi farm. Makoto was also to be our koi guide for the day. We selected around 20 pieces from here and Makoto was trying to tempt Bossman (Ricky) into buying one of the top 3 Nissai Sanke but as ever with top grade koi comes high prices. Our final selection here was 3 Tategoi Shusui, originally we selected 4 but Makoto wanted to keep 1 fish. Our last two visits of the day were to Kase where 7 stunning metallic koi were purchased. We mentioned Kase's grand champion Showa which has recently been awarded it's title and he came rushing out with the medal and he actually gave it to Ryan as a gift, a truley unforgettable gesture. The last stop was Seki Ikarashi but there was nothing here to tempt us so it was back to the hotel before another long day buying.

Day 2

Day 2 was a visit to Oomo Koi Farm. He had been very busy during the harvest and didn't have a lot of koi available however we did make a box which included 2 very nice Showa and a lovely Shusui. Fujio pffered Ricky the chance of a high grade Nissai Showa to grow on in Japan. The koi wasn't quite to my taste however and there wasn't anything else available. Next stop was down the road to Nogami where again stock was limited but we did get 5 nissai Kohaku with brilliant kiwa. The weather wasn't very good today and there was alot of heavy rain. So we travelled up into Koguriyama to Yozaemon. We picked around 21 koi here and were given a guided tour of the farm. We were even taken to his tategoi house where he showed us his No.1 Goshiki which was in preparation for the All Japan Koi Show. It was a koi of the highest grade and it was one that got the heart racing. The day was coming to an end so it was back intot the car and straight to the hotel. A good nights sleep was neccassary for the mud pond harvest tomorrow.

Meanwhile please browse through our pictures and enjoy.

Day 3

Today was my big day, the day of the mud pond harvest. We had the morning available so we visited Miyatora, a good friend of ours and we selected 8 pieces from here including 2 amazing Sanke. We were in the fish house for quite a while so by the time we had finished it was time for the harvest. We had already collected the wader from Fujio's facility so it was straight off to the new mud pond complex. Makoto Tanaka had been there at 5:00am to lower the water level and he was already there again upon our arrival. We pre-pared the net to drag around the pond and began as soon as Kobayashi san arrived. The pond needed at least 4 people in order to net it correctly so we began. It was quite an experience dragginf the net and it was an incredible strain on the arms and legs, nothing to what i had expected. When we were finished we pulled the net in slowly and the koi were becoming visible, i've got to admit i was getting a little bit excited but this was soon distracted as i saw my irst japanese frog which was enormous, i'd never seen anything like it. Anyway back to the harvest the net was in and the koi were being pulled out, my job was to take the bags up the banking to Makoto. In total around 5 bags of koi were taken but we had missed around 5 pieces so we had to re-net the pond and in the net was the best 3 koi of the harvest absolutely fantastic. All of the Nishikigoi were placed into the mobile vat and taken back to Fujio's facility, the best 3 were quicklt taken out of the way and the breeders began to grade the remaining koi. It was a fantastic experience and i was very greatful to the breeders for letting me experience such a task.

Day 4

Our final day and it was jam packed. We began with a visit to Marudoh but the only koi to take our interest were his Sansai which had an incredible price tag to go with them which was a great shame. Our next stop was to Urakawa village where our first stop was Torazo. Here Ricky purchased an amazing Nissai Kohaku which has great potential. Straight up the road was Sakazume who had a road side sale of High grade koi and we purchased 20 pieces form here. The final stop of the day took us a long a very rough mountain road which was undergoing serious repairs into the village of Mushigame. Yagenji Koi farm was the last stop of our trip and it was going to be a farm we wouldn't forget. Yagenji probably had the least volume of koi available we had seen all week but everyone was stunning. Several koi were purchased form here and we were also given the oppurtunity to leave some koi at the farm to grow for 1 year. In the end 4 koi were left and we were incredibly happy with the result. What a trip, i just can't wait to get the koi back now and show them off.
Please click on the images below to view a larger image
Our amazing Nissai Kujaku from Kaneko.
Another shot of the beauty.
Kaneko Tategoi Tosai Shiro Utsuri. There is a chance of us selecting from these in spring.
Kaneko Tategoi Tosai Kujaku.
Very beautiful koi selected at Kaneko koi farm.
Another shot of our Kaneko Nissai.
Two koi purchaseed by Ryan. The youngest son.
Nissai selected at Marusyo Koi farm.
3 Tategoi Shusui purchased from Maruyso. Originaly 4 but Makoto insisted to keep 1.
Nissai Chagoi mix selected from Marusyo.
Our very own pond at Marusyo...... where our purchased koi are kept
Kase Koi farm main sign.
Kase sans main Tosai house.
2 of Kase sans mud ponds one had been harvested the other was still waiting.
Our fantastic Nissai from Kase all have a very good metallic lustre.
Kase san viewing his Oyagoi (parent stock) and his grand champion Showa.
Kase sans grand champion Showa at a glance.
Kase san gave Ryan his grand champion medal as a gift.
In return we gave him some English whisky.
Seki Ikarashi's koi farm.
Mudpond located a Fujio's premisis.
Fujio's new concrete ponds.
Oomo Koi Farm sign.
Nissai Kohaku from Nogami. The skin quality and kiwa is excellent.
Yozaemon has refurbished his koi house in Koguriyarma.
Covers in place between ponds.
Nissai purchased at Yozaemon, always high grade koi here.
More high grade koi from yozaemon.
In total we purchased 21 pieces from Yozaemon and these were the best 4.
The same koi at another angle.
Selecting koi at Miyatora's.
Fujio recommended 3 pieces of koi for Ryan.
5 of the koi selected at Miyatora.
The mudpond harvest was a totally new experience for me.
The net required 2 people at each end as it was very heavy.
Kobayashi san helped with the netting.
Ricky helping out with the netting made light work for Fujio.
Makoto Tanaka was the 4th man involved.
Once the net has been dragged it had to be pulled in.
The excitement really hit home when i could see the koi.
Makoto inspected each koi before it went into the truck.
My job was to carry the koi up the banking.
Around 5 bags of koi came out of the pond.
We had to re-net the pond and Kobayashi san taught me a new way to drag the net.
7 Pieces of koi were in the second netting including the best 3.
Finally the net was washed and dryed and packed into the box.
All we had to do know was wash the waders and take the koi back to Oomo san's facility.
Marudoh had plenty of waders.
Stunning Marudoh sansai.
Amazing but sold out, many of the sansai had been grown from nissai for customers.
Many koi per pond!!
A very high grade Kohaku from Torazo.
Kawakami san (Torazo) told me that he liked this koi a lot and it would only get better over the next couple of years.
Sakazume koi farm sign.
Sakazume's roadside sale. In these tanks were 6" Nissai which had been held back to develop them.
Our high grade small Nissai at Sakazume. Many of these koi are sold to Japanese hobbyists who require small finished koi for showing.
The Stoddart family minus Ricky who was busy taking the photo.
The scenery around Mushigame.
More scenery shots. The mountain roads in Mushigame were a total wreck but workers were busy repairing them.
Our stunning Kindai Showa growing on at Yagenji koi farm for 1 year.
Our Kohaku (male) we have growing on at Yagenji koi farm for 1 year.
The 2 koi together, truley amazing!!!
3 special koi that will be returning to the UK. 2 Showa and a Kikusui form Yagenji. WOW!!!!
Another shot of the yagenji Koi.
Bossman's koi growing on at Yagenji koi farm. This was one of Yagenji's highest grade Kohaku and they told me that the pattern was very rare.
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