The night before i was walking with our agent , and he told me i was driving with a Dutch dealer , and that they had planned to go to Matsue today . Although i like

this farm , with only three days , i wasnt bothered about going , as its such a long drive , you cant really do another breeder the same day . Not wanting to rock the boat , i went along , and was VERY glad i did !

              We were shown a pond of Mukashi ogons , all around 55-60cm and sansai . It was explained the only reason they were small , is due to them not going out to a mudpond this summer , but they will still grow , and no reason they wont reach jumbo status . I selected 4 , and then added a huge one at 69cm , all female .

               We then went through another pond , selecting some very nice nisai kohaku , from around 25-45cm , at very nice prices , a real chance for anyone to own a Matsue kohaku , or a gin rin one !

Then into the main fish house , where a sansai kohaku was purchased around 63cm , then five males of very good quality and a nice female 55-60cm .

     I then started bowling some of his better quality females , but really coudnt find anything that really exited me . We were then taken to another fish house , where we were shown what was some of the best kohaku i have ever seen . 4 were caught up and bowled , and then i saw a stunning kohaku , the pattern was sublime , so i asked that to be bowled as well . She was fantastic , he then starting to price them , and it wasnt cheap , then he got to the one i liked and said ichi ban ( number one ) , i know that was they cue for me to with draw for the negotiations . This fish was the best nisai on the farm at the time , no doubt it will be different after all the koi had been harvested lol . I couldnt resist , and in the end i had to ask the price , it was way more than i have ever paid for a nisai , in fact the most i have ever paid for a koi , but i had to buy her , there was a little negotiation , and a deal was done . She is now the property of Gatwick Koi , and i couldnt be happier ! Please note this is a very serious koi , she will stay in Japan for one year , then we will decided what her future will be .

I have to say , today was a complete surprise , a very enjoyable day indeed !  Tomorrow Momotaro koi farm !