Some times things dont always go to plan , and it can be disheartening when you go to two great breeders like Yamazaki and Nagashima and find noting you like . But nothing picks you up like a plate of Niigata rice and curry source , so revitalised and fighting fit it was off to find a goromo for one of our customers .First afternoon stop was Iwashita , this guy always has very high grade koi and also very unusual varietys .Today we bowled two goromo and a goshiki , although very nice quality , one of our party thought that the one we saw at Tanaka the night before was better so we passed and returned to Maraju to have another look . This time in the real light of day , Steve and Angie saw why Tanaka has such a good reputation for this variety and duly purchased the koi , and Maggie liked its so much that she brought her sister . With daylight fading , and at the top of Mushigame there was only one thing for it , another return to Yagenji ! Feeling the need to buy somthing i bowled a very large framed goshiki around 63cm , female and yonsai  i think , although if im honest i was so shocked at the price i forgot to ask how old she was and bought her without further delay . Phil was looking for a nice Sanke , so we had 3 bowled up , two very nice males sansai , and one nisai female  which created quite a debate about which way to go as they were all the same price , id like to go into said debate , but its 1am and im so tired i havnt got the energy ! All the sanke except the nisai were returned giving Phil the opertunity to ponder over the choice . While we were still looking at the Sanke , we bowled up another two very high grade koi , the first a female showa which we looked at yesterday . and a stunning 3 step kohaku which was female , sorry about the pic you will just have to trust me or look at Mark Gardeners blog and watch the video as it is on there . Today Mark joined as all day and never wastes an oportunity to pass on his opinion , ooops sorry did i say opinion , what  i meant to say was invaluble years of experiance !!! All joking im glad he did as we had got a very unusual but very good showa bowled up on his advice .Decieding not to wait for Phil i took the plunge and bought all 3 plus the nisai sanke that phil liked , but please realise that is reserved for him untill we find another one .These koi are all female and around 40-50cm .Angie then took a fancy to a showa which was female , sansai and just under 60cm , which if im honest i was too excieted about , but what a differance it was when it was bowled , excellant skin quality and body shape it r3ally came alive in the bowl , another koi going to the Watson household  .With fading light it was time to call a close to the day , just  time to ring sekiguchi , satoshi and Oofuchi to make appointments for the following day , looking forward to satoshi tanaka as the koi left by me and jerone have been harvested , and tomorrow is the big day for the decision  on our head to head competition on who has the best gin rin showa ...................Pics as follows , two goromo and goshiki from Iwashita which were passed on , next two pics are the Tanaka Goromos bought at Tanaka , next pic is the larger sansai showa from Yagenji , then Yagenji yonsai goshiki and four high grade nisai .