October 2010

We spent last night in Matsue, and went out for a very pleasant meal with Iitsuka-san. We then went to the farm this morning to look at Nisai, Sansai and Yonsai looking for 'money no object' kind of Koi. After searching through everything available, the party with me concluded that the five fish in THIS VIDEO (that we have already bought) were in fact the very best of what Matsue had to offer. I particularly enjoyed seeing these Koi again, as now that they have settled, their skin and colour condition is already much better than when I first bought the Koi when harvested. The video gives you a much better insight into the body types and qualities that these Koi posses, than the Kois original videos in our 'Fish' sales pages.

This afternoon, we went to Momotaro to peruse the Koi that are to be auctioned on the 17th.

Tomorrow and Tuesday will be a tad more relaxed than the last week, as we now have four breeders to visit in the next two days, all within relatively close proximity to each other. Phew!...

Sorry for the lack of updates. I left Niigata on the 6th, and have been just about everywhere imaginable since! Today, we have been to Okawa, Yamatoya, and are now in Matsue. The schedule with the current party is an immensely crammed one, so I am driving more than every in the last few days! So far (since arriving in Japan on 15th of October) I have driven over 7000kms, and am likely to add another 1000 to this in the next few days.

I am massively over budget, as always. But, the Koi are starting to sell now, so looking good :-)

Tomorrow morning, we are at Matsue Koi Farm...

Yesterday was an interesting one. I am left contemplating a Kohaku that they grown on the farm during the Summer, and a pair of Showa that came up from the mudpond a few days ago.

Today was somewhat frustrating... we went to Yamatoya Koi Farm. The Nisai this year aren't really so good, though there Shiraishi-san has produced a few good ones. I like his Kashira this year, which I have reserved from when I watched the mud pond harvest. That said, he has another that is probably better that he is keeping as a so say 'customers Koi' ;-) It's not to my liking though, so no problem. But, as for the one I have reserved, she is indeed beautiful, but the problem I have, is that she is exactly the same price as last years Kashira (that we bought, and have at Yume Koi, though we have already sold her), but last years Kashira is to my mind a very rare creature, and the very best Kohaku that Shiraishi-san has ever produced. This makes this years one a tough decision. Hey ho...

Well, yesterday was a somewhat torturous drive from Mihara to Kyushu. I was really struggling to stay awake at the wheel, so had to stop off twice en route. We arrived at Ueno Koi Farm at 4pm, and perused all of the Nisai for an hour or so. There are some good Koi there this year, but the prices are I think higher than people in the UK will pay. Showa is an incredibly difficult variety, and people always ask me why I don't buy more Showa. The simple truth, is that I love Showa, but really struggle to find good ones. Of course, there are pretty ones that won't grow, and there are ugly ones of low quality that perhaps will grow. But to find a Showa that has the right body type to grow big is very difficult. To find one that will carry a good shape & get big is harder. To find one that will grow big with a good shape, AND be of high quality when big is almost impossible. This is why, to date, I have only bought three Showa from Ueno. Don't get me wrong, Ueno Showa are fantastic, but I always struggle to get good Showa anywhere in Japan. If you do find one that 'ticks all the boxes', then the chances are that something else is wrong, like the pectoral fins sweep back too much, etc...

People sometimes compare our Koi to what they can find elsewhere. But, sadly, they often miss the point. A newcomer to the hobby visited us recently with a group of friends. Strangely, he made an observation of the body types of our Koi, and quizzed me on it. What he noticed, was the strength and thickness of the backbone, and that he said he had never seen that 'look' with Koi he had seen offered for sale anywhere else. It seems something trivial, but to me, it is something very important if you intend grow the Koi big. The back line and thickness is very important, and the belly line is also very important, as a combination of these points dictate the likelyhood of the Koi to grow big, and what kind of shape it will carry when big. To find this in Showa is a lot harder, but I think if you watch THIS VIDEO of the 70cm Yonsai Showa pictured below, and THIS ONE of the same fish as Nisai, I hope you will appreciate why I am so picky about the Koi I buy. I would never buy something that I wouldn't be happy to keep and grow myself. You can peruse the rest of our videos HERE

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Sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple of days, but it has been hectic to say the very least!

On the 28th, I drove to Okayama, and we met up with Leo and John (Deshima Koi), whom I am taking around all areas of Japan until the 6th when the next party arrives.

Anyway, on the 29th, the four of us went to Momotaro, as Leo and John were in search of Koi. Then, that evening was the last evening for Darren, as he was returning to the UK the following morning. After that, I drove John and Leo to the next hotel, as we had an early appointment the following morning...

So, after taking Leo and John to a new breeder early on the 30th, we then headed off to Takigawa Koi Farm. They managed to get a few good Koi there, and were absolutely blown away by Takigawa's really special Koi, including a Showa that I sold as Nisai that has been left there through to Sansai. You can see a movie of her HERE. She was his 'Kashira' as Nisai, and is absolutely perfect in every way! She has a perfect body and head, beautiful skin, amazing colour quality, with perfect Sashi and Kiwa, and fantastic Sumi, that again has very good Sumi Kiwa, and no Jami (loose shimi Sumi)... fantastic!

Then, today (31st), we went to Omosako Koi Farm so that Leo and John could buy some Nisai for their customers.

Tomorrow morning, we hit the road again...

Well, today was everything I could have hoped it to be! Aside from the constant rain at the Matsue Sansai harvest, the rest of it was fantastic!

I had three Koi in there, once of which I sourced as Tosai, and the others as Nisai. These came out (in order of appearance at the end of the gallery) at 68, 69, and 71cm respectively, with the 71cm one being the biggest of the harvest, and in my eyes, the best. The other two, were also in the top handful of Koi from the harvest. I am incredibly happy with this!

The Tsukitsuke Nidan Kohaku at the end of the gallery also features in a few 'handling skills' shots in the mudpond ;-)

I also managed to source some good Nisai today, though cheaper than those that we normally buy. These are still very good Koi, though of course, not quite of the same level as the best. I will try to get pics up later...

Many thanks,

Mike.

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This afternoon, Omosako harvested another pond of Nisai. I hope that the pics are of interest. The last three pics are of the best Koi from the mud pond, and is absolutely stunning! Needless to say, I dropped my interest in the other Koi because of my desperation to buy this Koi! She if from the parent 'Kuro Kabuto' The very last photo, is of her when she was Tosai at the time of going into the mudond.

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Well, Thursday, was a long and tiring drive from Matsue to Omosako. I saw three Nisai on Thursday afternoon, that I am contemplating buying.

Today (Friday) is a harvesting day. This morning, a pond full of customers Sansai was harvested, so was an early start for us as this commenced at 8.00am. This afternoon, we will be attending a Nisai harvest with a view to making final decisions on purchases after seeing the newly harvested Koi.

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Well, today was quite a fruitful day...

In order of appearance, the Koi in the photos are as follows...

1) Matsue Tancho, Sansai and 62cm
2) Matsue Nisai Kohaku, 56cm
3) Matsue Nisai Kohaku, 59cm
4) Matsue Nisai Kohaku, 57cm
5) Matsue Nisai Kohaku, 56cm
6) Matsue Nisai Kohaku, 62cm. This one is a very very special one from the parent 'Yumehana'!
7) Matsue Maruten Kohaku, Sansai, and 70cm. We bought her, and sold her to a Chinese client as Nisai. She is now looking fantastic!

I have to dash out for dinner now, but hope to update again later...

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Today was quite exciting for me! I saw three Koi now as Sansai. The Maruten is one we have already sold when Nisai, and is now 65cm as Sansai, and simply stunning!

The Sandan is one that I sold as Tosai, and then sold to another client as Nisai. She is now Sansai and some 67cm!

The third Koi is mine, and now 63cm. This Kois pattern and quality is amazing, though skin condition was not so good on the day. This is something that will clean up remarkably easily though, and the underlying skin quality is amazing!

Before leaving Okawa, I went out for lunch, and was presented with a birthday cake by the Okawa (Tanaka-san) family! I will add a pic of this later.

On the afternoon, I hit the road for the 4 hour drive to Hiroshima, for the 18th is my Birthday, and I was going out with Yuuki-san to celebrate making it this far ;-)

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Today was pretty uneventful. I left Matsue at about 9am for a 6 1/2 hour drive down to Okawa Koi Farm.

They had harvested a Nisai mud pond today about an hour away from the farm. The pond is so big, that they took 17 helpers along to help with the harvest, to make a 'human chain' to pass Koi up the dam end of the pond. In the evening, a party was held for the helpers, which was great fun! After that, I went out with Yuji-san and Yoneichi-san for a few drinks, and back to bed.

On the morning of the 16th, I headed up to Matsue city, which was about a 3 hour drive, and one that I always really enjoy, as I know a short cut through the mountains that is just stunning scenery!

I bought one Nisai Kohaku of 58cm from them, and also saw my beautiful Princess of a Koi, now measuring some 71cm as Sansai! I bought this Koi when she was displayed in the 'Yume Ten' (Dream Koi) exhibition at the All Japan Show. The body type of this Kohaku is simply amazing, and as such, she should easily make 90cm in the near future!

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Well, it is now actually the 19th of October at the time of doing my first blog entry, as this is the first day I have had an internet connection!

Anyway, I picked up my car on Friday 15th, and headed up to Takigawa Koi Farm. Not many Koi were harvested, but I did find three very nice Tanchos. They are about 50 ~ 52cm in size, and very good quality.

On the following morning, 400 Nisai were to be harvested, but alas I wouldn't see it, as I was off to Matsue the following morning. This mud pond hadn't been used for a few years because of high nitrate levels caused by the crop growing greenhouses that you can see in the background. But, according to Takigawa-san, the company that owned the greenhouses have cleaned up their act, so hence, he used the pond again this year.

On the evening, I went our for dinner with Takigawa-san, and then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep...

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Well, it's that time of year once again. I am sitting in Schipol airport awaiting my flight to Osaka, Japan. I have no idea what to expect this Autumn, but suffice to say, that I hope that this trip will see the purchase, and sale of many extremely high level Nishikigoi!

Fingers crossed...

Posted LIVE, from Iitsuka-san's truck on the way to the mudpond! I am very excited about this harvest! :-)

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This morning, i did have an agenda, but alas, the breeder in mind was out harvesting. So, we decided to pop back to Matsue for an hour or two to get video footage of yesterdays harvested koi. Whilst there however, I found three new koi, and photographed one customers koi that I bought as tosai, and sold when Nisai. She is now 70cm Yonsai, and incredibly beautiful. So, the first three pics are of the new koi, and the last koi is the customers Yonsai...

We are now at Yamatoya, and are attending a nisai harvest in the morning. Sorry, I haven't yet had enough Internet time to upload many of the koi to the sales pages. I hope to do this tomorrow evening...

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