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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