March 2010

Well, I woke up this morning to find out that my flight home from Paris was cancelled, and that this would leave me stranded in Paris with thousands of other people, waiting to come home!So, I decided that if I stayed in Japan, at least I would be comfortable, and could get some work done.

Yesterday, part of my intended itinerary was to visit Momotaro, but I was running late. So, I went down to the Farm today, as Daisuke said that was intended to happen here yesterday, also wasn't happening until today.

To cut a long story short... Mr Kaneko of Nagano prefecture was here today, to pick from the absolute cream of the Tosai that were bred from his parent Koi. These were some seriously good Koi!

Breeding has already started here, about a week ago. They are intending to get at least 5 million black fry selected from Showa breedings, and the first selection of these black fry started today.

The Takeda Tosai mentioned earlier, can be found in the following video links...

Takeda Sanke 39cm

Takeda Showas

{gallery}march2010/2104::::1{/gallery}

Well, Sunday was an interesting one...

Went to Takeda Koi Farm... Went through all of Takeda's Tategoi ponds, and bought what I considered to be the cream of the crop, as usual. Pics came out lousy, as my flash gun has been playing up, so the photo here was taken with my compact camera. Anyway, the Koi are fantastic, and up to 39cm. 6 Showa, and 1 Sanke, from a 1 metre Momotaro parent.

On Monday, I went to Takigawa Koi Farm. I went through the two best Tategoi ponds, but drew a complete blank :-( There was nothing that I considered to be of the level I was looking for. A real shame, as he is a fantastic breeder.

Today, have been to Matsue Koi Far... got 8 really high end Kohaku female Jumbo Tosai... really high end! Again, my flash was broken, so pics are no good. The Beni is much softer and more beautiful than the pics! I have excellent video of these, that are far more representative of the Koi... will upload later.

To my surprise, it looks like I may be flying home in the morning. As such, I am in a panic getting ready! Vids and more updates to follow...

{gallery}march2010/1804::::1{/gallery}

Well, drove from Okawa, up to Omosako today.

First though, I would like to thank Leo for forgetting his sunglasses! ;-) I promise I will return them one day!...

Anyway, got three more female Tosai at Omosako. Was hoping for more, but that's it for now.

{gallery}march2010/1704/2:150:300::1{/gallery}

Work has started here on Omosako's new fish house, and looks as though it will be built very quicky. Sorry I haven't taken other pics, but am all alone now, so nobody to swap cameras with.

This eve, am out with Takahiro-san, and Yuuki-san in Hiroshoma... as if I really need another night of drinking! ;-)

{gallery}march2010/1704::::1{/gallery}

Well, Friday was a great day! Managed to get 8 very good female Jumbo Tosai of up to 44cm. This Koi will grow up very well, and are of lovely quality. Went out for dinner with Yoneichi-san in the evening, and stayed at his house last night. Off to Omosako today...

{gallery}march2010/1604:150:300::1{/gallery}

Well, Thursday, I drew a blank... Went to see Yamatoya-san's Tosai, but there was nothing here that inspired me this time. I will probably buy a few of his Tateshite though.

Well, not much has happened the last two days. Tuesday was spent mainly at Momotaro, and then yesterday morning, Leo and John went home. I spent the rest of yesterday finally finishing off the latest Koi Nations magazine article... so if you are wondering why your latest copy has taken some time to arrive on your doorstep, it's most likely my fault. Sorry Michael, but hope it was worth the wait ;-)

Today, I will be off to Yamatoya, and things should start looking a whole lot more interesting from tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled...

This afternoon, we arrived at Momotaro at around 3.30pm. Maeda-san was selecting through their Tategoi, and had told me previously that some would be available to purchase. Leo and John bought the only ones of interest to me though, so I didn't buy this time. They were very high class Koi though, and very much my kind of Koi!

Daisuke's Wife Hitomi has gone to hospital this evening, as she is about to give birth to their second child, so he won't be joining us for dinner. Good luck to them both this evening!!!

{gallery}march2010/12042::::2{/gallery}

Today, we went to Sakai Koi Farm. Leo and John were keen to find some Koi. I too was looking for something, as although I have been taking 'high end' hobbyists there for quite some time now, I haven't to date brought and of their Koi back to Yume Koi, and figured it was about time I did!

Kentaro was great, as always! It was a very brief stop though, and I felt a little awkward having to decline an offer of taking us out to dinner... he has an amazing Korean BBQ restaurant near the farm!!!

After leaving Sakai, I had to briefly drop in on another breeder, before heading back to Momotaro Koi Farm...

{gallery}march2010/1204::::2{/gallery}

Today, we drove from Okawa to Takigawa, which took some 5 hours of driving I was shattered when we got there, and driving an average of 500km each day is taking it's toll now. It's the same routine every day... driving, looking at Koi, dining with breeders, some sleep, then the same the following morning! It's going well though so far, and Leo & John are so far very happy.

Visiting Takigawa was really just so that they could see his Koi, and gain some insight into the bloodlines, etc. He showed us some of his high quality Koi, that he had hidden away. After that, we sat down so that I could introduce him to Leo and John, and explain to him what they are trying to do. After that, he took us out for dinner. Tomorrow promises to be an equally arduous day...

{gallery}march2010/1104::::1{/gallery}

On Saturday morning, we hit the road for a 3 hour trek down to Ueno. Leo and John didn't find anything here, but I managed to find one Showa that I found very interesting. This first Showa pictured, is one we bought and sold when Nisai. She is now Sansai and 64cm.

After Ueno, we went to Okawa, where John and Leo found many Koi.

I will add text for the pictures later...

{gallery}march2010/1004::::1{/gallery}

Well, Friday was absolute mayhem. On Thursday night, we went out for dinner with Takahiro Omosako. On the following morning, we went up to the farm. Leo and John bought one very high quality Sansai, two lovely Yonsai, and a number of other Koi. I think they were very happy. After that, we went on the trek out to Yamatoya, where Leo and John bought 7 Nisai.

{gallery}march2010/0904::::1{/gallery}

This morning, we hit the road for the two hour journey to Matsue, so that John and Leo could find some Tosai and Nisai. Take a look at the photos for an explanation of how the day went. As for tomorrow... well, tomorrows news will come... tomorrow! ;-)

{gallery}march2010/0804::::2{/gallery}

Today, Leo and John arrived in Japan. I took them down to Momotaro Koi Farm, where we spent the afternoon looking at numerous Koi so that various qualities and bloodlines could be discussed. Last night, we went out with Daisuke to a Korean BBQ. I will add pics this eve, as had have no time to resize and upload them. I still have to finish a magazine article for Koi Nations magazine... it's nearly there, but my head is on the chopping block now ;-)

{gallery}march2010/0704::::1{/gallery}

Nothing to report today! Left Okawa at 10.30 this morning, and drove up to Okayama, as Darren travels home in the morning. We arrived in Okayama at 4pm, it was just under a 500km drive. I now have two magazine articles to write and finish by 12.00pm tomorrow, it's now 8.15pm here in Okayama... the pressure is ON!!! ;-)

Today, we went to Okawa Koi Farm. Darren got lucky, and has purchased a number of Jumbo Tosai. Unfortunately, for me this time, it is difficult to obtain the level of Koi I am looking for, as due to Asian demand, it seems to be the same story everywhere, that masses of Koi have been bought and sent to other Asian countries. I haven't given up hope yet though... two other breeders are going to let me have some of their Tategoi. It could be the case though that this year we will be short of high-level Jumbo Tosai?

In the pics below... the Okawa brothers do business in style! No messing around, just jump straight in the pond, and harvest it! Yoneichi-san is selecting fish out for Darren to choose from. Looking on of course, is Darren, with Nagoshi-san next to him in the first pic. Nagoshi-san is from Toyama prefecture. He did his apprenticeship at Okawa Koi Farm many years ago. Will update this later...

{gallery}march2010/0504::::2{/gallery}

Today was the day I could take a leisurely walk around the Show.

I didn't want to make a song and dance about before now, but we had four Koi at the Show. Two of these were clients Koi, and two were Koi that we haven't yet sold. The best prize we had, was a 'Jiseki prize' (2nd) with a clients Shiro Utsuri, and Kohaku that got a third. A Momotaro Sanke of ours also took a 3rd.

Pics now added today Tues 6th, but text to be added later...

{gallery}march2010/0404::::2{/gallery}

Well, today was an exciting one, and also hard work! My task, was one of a team of 5 judges responsible for picking all of the winners in the 23bu and 33bu class (up to 23cm, and up to 33cm). We also had to judge the Champions. The judging of the 23 and 33 classes was pretty tough going, as it was all carried out at great speed. We all had to look at the entrants in each variety, and pick out a certain number (up to 20, dependent on number of entrants) that we considered to be the best. We then had to narrow the choices down, and vote on the winners, and runners up. Yamamatsu (Sakai-san) was the head judge, with Kondo and two other breeders also taking part. It proved to be very interesting. I also had to choose the most unique Koi in 23 and 33bu by myself. You can imagine how much of an anti-climax this was for me, as I am someone who only likes Go-Sanke, Shiro Utsuri, and Kujaku!!! Anyway, in 23Bu, I chose a very unusual Beni Kumonryu, and in 33Bu, I chose a really odd looking creature that remsembled one of somewhat unpopular Cha-Utsuris, but with some yellow colour patterning on, like an Ochiba. Perhaps it was a Ochiba Cha-Utsuri, I don't know, but it looked unique, no doubt about that!!! Other judges chose unique Koi in other sizes, but for some odd reason I think misunderstood the judging criteria of 'most unique Koi', as they picked things like Sanke, and Goshiki. I could understand it if the Koi were unusual examples ;-)

Last night, we attended the dinner party, and then went off to an 'after party' party with Takahiro Omosako, Iitsuka-san (Matsue), Tanaka-san (Okawa), and Nagoshi-san... it was a great night!

{gallery}march2010/0304::::2{/gallery}

This morning, we drove from Muikaichi (Yamatoya) down to Kyushu, where the Wakagoi Show is taking place this weekend. There weren't many fish at the show when we were there, so I grabbed a a few people shots.

I am very excited about tomorrow, as I will be judging at this Show. I have had to bring a suit with me to Japan this time, so that I look respectable during the course of tomorrow...

{gallery}march2010/0204::::1{/gallery}

There was no internet connection yesterday, so hence, no updates. However, we went to Takigawa Koi Farm in the morning to show Steve Gibbins his farm. Aside from taking a look around all of the various Koi houses, we also took a look at some of the mudponds, including one of the biggest ones (24,000 sq metres), which will be home to around 500 tosai this coming Summer, to grow through to Nisai. I neglected to take a picture of this pond for some reason, so have added a few pics of this mud pond being harvested in 2007 so that you can appreciate the sheer scale of it! Whilst there, I also did some translation for Steve, the fruits of which I can't disclose... you'll have to grill him for info on this one ;-)

In the afternoon, we went to Yamatoya Koi Farm, again so that Steve could see how Shiraishi-san is doing things.

{gallery}march2010/0104::::1{/gallery}

This afternoon, we headed off to Sakai. I was surprised that Kentaro-san was able to take care of us this afternoon, as I figured he would be tied up with customers since the Wakagoi Show is this coming weekend. Anyway, Kentaro-san was his usual pleasant self, and helped Steve out with some information that he was hoping to obtain.

Tonight, we are in Kozan, next to Takigawa Koi Farm. We will be visiting there again in the morning...

{gallery}march2010/31030::::1{/gallery}