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Japan Trip • Spring 2007 • Back
If you wish to contact me whilst i am in Japan please use the following email address

stoddart58@msn.com

Arrival

I have arrived in Nagaoka and the weather is looking good there has not been any snow for a few days so it should be easy to get around. I have been making arrangements with Fujio Oomo and my first stop tomorrow is at Yagenji and that's all i am saying for today. You will have to come back tomorrow to find out more i should have plenty of pictures and information!

Day 1

Don't you just hate it when you cannot get your own way. The first stop today was at Yagenji, as soon as i arrived Daisuke and Toshinori bowled the 3 koi we have growing at their farm for inspection. What a start the sumi of the 2 Shiro Utsuri has improved by 50% since October and there were signs of sumi begin to appear on the head of our No.1. My Kindai Showa wasn't doing bad either with the beni beginning to thicken all is on course for the season in the mud pond. As for the Tosai the koi i had arranged to select were not of the standard i required so i asked to view the Tategoi....speechless!! In the fish house the 4 ponds contained koi of the highest standard and every koi was oozing with potential. These were not for sale however but i was lucky that after much negotiation they agreed to send me pictures of some of the best that have available at the end of April when they do the second grading we will purchase around 5 pieces to grow on in one of Yagenji's mud ponds.

Next stop was back down the mountains to possibly what is my favorite farm...Kaneko who is a specialists in Shiro Utsuri and Kujaku but also ha many other unusual varieties available. Once again the first call of duty was to check our No.1 Goshiki and Tategoi Shiro Utsuri we have growing at his farm both of which won awards at the Nagaoka koi show in October and everything was just as i expected, perfect! I spent several hours here selecting Tosai Shiro Utsuri, Kujaku, Kikikuryu and some others. All of these koi are very good grade and excellent for people looking to grow small koi. As usual there was a spanner thrown into the works whilst at Kaneko's. In one of the holding tanks at his facility was 24 Tategoi Shiro Utsuri everyone of the highest grade and of a good size 18-24cm. I began the negotiations and eventually he agreed to sell them all to my amazement but due to the vast investment in these koi i needed to have a chat with my Dad and i am glad to say i will be going back tomorrow to purchase them all.

The last stop of my very relaxing and enjoyable day was to Nishikigoi Niigata Direct jointed owned by Oomo, Tanaka, Kaneko and Kobayashi. Their Jumbo tosai were incredible already reaching 30cm+. Hear i selected Tosai Goromo and after I and Kobayashi netted the pond because Oomo san was to busy telling us what to do there were many exceptional grade Kujaku present. I made my selection and as i was viewing them Oomo san kept moving several pieces of these Kujaku and Kikikuryu into another bowl (never a good sign). Needless to say they were what he considered Tategoi grade so negotiation had to start all over again and this time i cam up trumps just take a look at the pics and see for yourself.

Day 2

Fujio decided to begin today with a journey to the Takiya mud pond complex to give me a lesson on pre-paring the mudponds ready for the next season.

Really it was yet another steady day, selecting koi with numerous Nishikigoi lessons along the way. I spent all of the morning selecting at Marusyo koi farm. We spent quite a while talking about the Oyagoi at his farm whilst we sat above the pond feeding them. It is always good to see these koi and discover how their offspring will develop. I then moved into the main Tosai house where I and Makoto netted a pond for my selection. The whole netting process is much harder than it appears trying to catch all of the koi and raising the net to the surface without loosing many is not easy. In front of me was thousands of Tosai and selecting the 65 that i did was no easy task. Out of the pond i selected many great Doitsu Showa, Sanke, Gin Rin Sanke, Gin Rin Ochiba and awesome Beni Kumonryu which will sell very quickly due to the demand from my customers. Very satisfied i had got the grade of koi i required we netted another pond with larger size Tosai. The grade is exceptional but selection was very hard in this pond. I wa selecting most of the top koi that Makoto could potentially keep as Tategoi and he kept trying to make me loose the koi back into the net or back into the pond by smacking the handle of my net with his own. At numerous times he said light heartedly 'please finish now'. To end my morning there i was able to select in his Tategoi and selected the top 2 Sanke which are returning home, one for me and one for Ryan. So many top grade koi were purchased from his farm all of which are done no justice by their pictures

After this Fujio spent a lot of time teaching me about holding large amounts of koi in very small ponds and keeping the koi's condition good which is not easy to achieve. After this Makoto joined us again and we went to Nogami but unfortunately the koi i required was not available. Finally to Fujio's facility where the Showa quality is very good this year so i am going to select there tomorrow. We ended the day in his office with Makoto and Nogami and i began to try and arrange my next work experience in Japan. I got the usual reply from Fujio 'ah i am thinking now' which means i will get an answer within 2 days if i am lucky.

Day 3

Today was another very interesting day just as Oomo san was telling me because there has been no snow he is going to take his snow tires of......it starts snowing! I stopped at the Takiya facility again this morning and was talking koi with Oomo and Kaneko for around 1 hour before moving to Oomo san's facility. I had already viewed the koi previously so we got the net and caught all of the koi. I began to select and was nice and relaxed before Oomo san got his chair and started selecting next to me for another customers. When we had both finished he offered me the selection fo 1 koi from his bowl and i refused and told him i had all of the best koi already. After this Oomo san finally broke and decided to sell me some of his highest grade Tosai (tategoi). I selected 4 very beautiful Showa that i will be growing for 1 season at our facility.

We then returned to Kaneko where i purchased the top grade Shiro Utsuri mentioned before i am delighted that we will have these as well as many other real top grade Tosai available this season. I also selected some Beni Kikikuryu and Doitsu Ochiba of a high standard. Kaneko san bowled our 2 koi that we have growing there and both are coming on very well. The Goshiki will go much lighter again in the mud pond but this is a sign of the finished product after spending time in a concrete pond. The Shiro Utsuri's sumi was developing well and should be completed within 2 years.

After lunch it was straight to Miyatora where i selected 50 pieces of good grade Go-Sanke koi and some Gin Rin examples. For me however which is quite possibly the highlight of the trip was my visit to Kase a specialist breeder of metallic varieties and a very good friend. After purchasing some other koi from him i viewed one pond where all of the koi were of show standard. Mind blowing metallic luster and very interesting patterns. Kase san never allows selection of Tosai but due to my good relationship with him and the fact i offered a much higher price than he was asking he allowed me to select. Never before have i been so excited when selecting koi. The pictures i have got are very poor and under exposed but i recommend that anybody who looking to buy high grade metallic koi comes to view these when they are for sale. They are the best we have ever had!!

Day 4

My final day and also a new record for the least koi i have ever bought in a day. Only 2 pieces today from Oomo. It was a very funny story because i was looking at his Tategoi again today for around 30 minutes and saw several more pieces. First i bowled a Kohaku that is going to fare very well at show level with very keep Beni and superb Kiwa. The koi's oyagoi was the Nagaoka koi show reserve champion and it holds a lot of potential for the future. The second koi i did not bowl until Fujio had given me the price it is a small Showa around 18-20cm and out of this world. I agreed to buy it so we bowled the koi and much to Oomo sans disappointment the koi was of a much higher grade than he thought and told me the price should have been much, much higher. I could really see that he was a little upset that he had even agreed to sell it. The Showa given the correct preparation stands a good chance of winning at a koi show in its class but also in its size so i was very happy that i was able to purchase it.

We then spent the rest of the day at the Takiya facility where Oomo san did a little paperwork and spent the rest of the day teaching me (his apprentice) so it was very enjoyable. I ended my trip with a meal at the Korean barbecue style restaurant with Oomo, Tanaka and Kobayashi. It has been a really excellent trip and i really feel that the grade of koi we have available this year (all hand selected) is far greater than previous years and i am looking forward to having them displayed at our shop.

As from 26/2/07 we will be back to our usual email address. Andy will be in Japan for 1 week from this date with customers. So i am returning to take care of everything. Thank you to everybody who has followed my Japan diary. I hope you have enjoyed it.

Andy's Week

Another interesting week for us in Niigata. Andy was lucky enough to buy Kaneko's No.1 Tategoi Nissai Kujaku after 1 week of me trying to negotiate to get him to sell. We are really delighted to own such a koi and look forward to seeing it when it's harvested in October 07. Many more koi were selected to top the shipment up but unfortunately due to an error with the camera there are only a few pictures. The shipment is arriving on the 8th March so i will add some pictures from the shipment night to this diary. The new pictures are around the middle of the page and don't forget to come back to look at our shipment night images.
Please click on the images below to view more images of our amazing trip.
The view of Mushigame from Yagenji's koi house.
Yagenji's Tategoi house
Yagenji's world famous main koi house
The 3 koi we have growing at Yagenji this year, all have the potential to be top show koi
The sumi of the Shiro Utsuri has improved by 50% since October.
The koi being released i will not see these again until Ocotber.
Tosai Kujaku selected from Kaneko. The quality has improved greatly compared with last year.
Mixed varieties selected from Kaneko, mainly Kikikuryu
The tategoi Shiro Utsuri i am returning to purchase, better pics soon
The new sign at the Takiya facility.
All is looking good at the new facility, very diiferent from when i saw it in August 06
New outdoor ponds at the new facility
Boxes pre-pared ready for a shipment
Jumbo Tosai now 30cm+ will be in excess of 40cm by May.
The quality of these koi is without doubt within the best to be found in Niigata.
Kaneko's jumbo Tosai Shiro Utsuri slightly smaller than the other koi but outstanding
Goromo selected with some of my Tategoi Kujaku
The top koi that Oomo san removed from my other bowl
Oomo san tried several times to but this koi back or hide it but i won in the end. Exceptional grade!
Makoto Tanaka, Fujio Oomo & Tamikazu Kobayshi inspecting my koi the Japanese way.
Kobayshi san walking over the thin wall with a heavy bowl, without falling in.
Takiya mud pond now empty awaiting maintanence.
I didn't even feed them!!
Tategoi Kohaku purchased from Oomo
It's a strong contender for any koi show
Top tategoi Showa from Oomo
Oomo san was really upset that he sold this koi to me
A very unhappy Oomo san
Picture from the top of a mountain in Mushigame
Fujio feeding his No.1 Showa that is a future Oyagoi
The No.1 Oomo Showa in preparation for the Wakagoi show
The last job was to feed our selected koi to keep them in good condition before starvation for the shipment
2 Nissai Kujaku from Kaneko both female and very nice
Oomo Hi Utsuri being moved into a holding tank. Exceptional beni quality
The netted koi at Oomo koi farm
No.1 Nissai Kujaku from Kaneko. I don't need to add a comment
All types of Tancho selected from Kaneko
High grade Tancho's, interesting to see how they develop
More very good grade koi selected from Marusyo
Larger Tosai selected at Marusyo containing some of his best Doitsu Sanke
The extension where the Jumbo Tosai are grown.
One more shot of our Top grade Kujaku and Kikikuryu.
All of the ponds needed several chemicals adding before being refilled
Male Oyagoi at Marusyo koi farm
Female oyagoi lurking beneath
Ricky netting the Tosai pond
We met at the top end.
I'm always happy when i've got a net in my hand
High grade Beni Kumonryu selected.
Another shot of Beni Kumonryu, all will sell very quickly.
Other koi selected at Marusyo
Top Gin Rin Ochiba, really stunning.
Beautiful Doitsu Showa
Very good grade Sanke & Gin Rin Sanke
The other koi selected at Marusyo some very promising small koi.
Fujio and Makoto as happy as ever
They netted another pond for my selection
A Goshiki that Makoto tried to put back.
More exceptional Goshiki all larger Tosai
Top Sanke i had to sneak into the bowl
More superb Sanke, very good skin quality and body shape
Doitsu Sanke and 2 larger Beni Kumonryu that will be exceptional as the sumi develops further.
All popualr vareities and very good examples
2 top Tategoi Sanke for Ricky & Ryan to grow on
All of our selected koi are now house in this container until the shipment
Oomo san selecting against me at his facility. Very relaxed on his chair!
He looked very happy becuase he thought he kept taking the best koi from me
The beautiful Showa selected from his facility
The rest of the bunch!
The koi went into the basket after selection
Oomo san scooping in his Tategoi pond for me
aah exciting
One of 3 Tategoi
2 of 3 tategoi
3 of 3 tategoi the 4th Tategoi is seceret
This is much easier to move the basket it would be a shame to for him to have to bend his back!
The top grade Shiro Utsuri from Kaneko very poor picture sorry
Very high grade Kikikuryu and Doits Ochiba and 1 Kujaku and 1 Ochiba
This little stunner is another experiment for me it will be grown for 1 season
No.1 Nissai Goshiki growing on in Japan...WOW!
Top grade Tategoi Shiro Utsuri growing on in Japan...AWESOME!
Very happy selecting koi again
Nissai Shiro Utsuri selected at Kaneko
All koi Kaneko is growing for customers the combined value would be unreal
Always very good koi at Miyatora
Chogouro small koi house he only breeds Purachina and Beni Kikikuryu
It is one of the smalles koi houses in Niigata
Exceptional grade Metallic Doitsu Ochiba and the rest of the koi are equally as good
MSK114
OTS106
TAZ100 (SOLD)

 
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