With the snow really falling down , i was starting to worry about how we are going to get round and get everything we needed doing sorted out out . Due to the snow things were becoming more and more difficult , a five minute drive round a mountain now becoming a hour drive .Another hand selection of tosai had to be cancelled due to time running out . So we missed lunch and went staright to Tanaka to pick up the certificates for the tosai we selected earlier in the week and they look really nice After that we drove past iwashita and couldnt ring him as we know he wouldnt be abe to get to his facilty in this weather , as i know some of you like his fish , ill put a few on that i havnt still put on the website from the autumn , these are still not even in the shop yet ! So really as we needed to get to Maruhiro to measure and photograph all the koi we have growing on there , it was best to get ourelves round there asap before the weather really set in . When we arrived it was obvious we wouldnt be going to the other facility as the snow was getting too bad , so we settrled in with a hot cup of apple tea and set about catching some koi for the last time this trip . I had to pick alot of normal standrd koi for our wholesale facilty , so we picked around 50 nisai including chagoi , sorogoi and many others including doitsu mixes . After that i made up a nice box for the shop of mainly go sanke and another aka matsuba .. After a while i started to struggle on the smaller nisai so Hinori san started getting all koi from all ponds , he really is a class act sales man , he doesnt stop trying and we love him for that .Every trip i get he tends to do somthing for me on a nice koi as a thank you for the buinessnes .This time he bowled a sansai gin rin kohaku , around 55cm and a great body shape , very similer to one of his sansai tategoi that he would not sell me .Along with some others from the same pond we soon had a couple of bowls filled up , the price for the whole lot was given and just couldnt refuse so another 20 odd koi were purchased . We said all our good byes and made our way down the mountian to go back to the hotel , ill miss this crazy guy we have such a great time there and he always looks after us , cant wait untill April when i return for selection of high grade tateshita and anything else i can get my hands on ! Driving back we were discusing that this had to be one of the best days ever , then the phone rang , it was Sakai , did we want the showa we had reserved , in the excietment of it all we had forgotten to go back and see it , desicion had to be made , i guess this is where even a dealer can get caught up in the moment , i diddnt need to go back , i had pics and video so the paperork could be just filled in and dropped round later .Ok , ill take her , that really was the end of a perfect day , in a perfect week , of a perfect trip .........................Ill add my thoughts on the trip on Sunday when im back in the uk . Pictures will follow in about 20 minutes as i need to get ready for the taxi now lol . Photos are of the sansai gin rin kohaku , and nisai from 30-45cm , including a nice gin rrin sanke , these seem harder and harder to find, and lastly the certificates for the tosai from Tanaka ! See you all Sunday when ill finish the blog and add the rest of the oics of the chagoi etc etc ............Gary