Sometimes i hear people complain , that when in Japan , they only visit a few breeders every day . Well , that might work for some , but we try and do a little more in a day , with the volume of koi we need to buy on one trip , that doesnt work for us . But as usual , i make a bold statement like that , and end up doing the exact opposite , and today we did just that , three breeders all day . But let me explain a little more ...................

                  Today we knew that Yagenj had harvested some more koi , and on the phone , he asked us to wait until around 10am  , when he thought they would return . So with an hour to spare , we popped in to see if Kaneko had harvested , he had , and wow , some of the best quality i have ever seen ! We went to his pond for sansai and better quality koi , a few were bowled , but they really were a bridge to far . A tancho showa caught my eye , stunning in every way  , sansai and around 60cm , but woud have been retailing for so many 1000s of pounds , i had to pass . We are at the stage where we can buy these koi , but selling them , well thats a different matter all together . I moved on to the nisai , and started bowling nisai . Gin rin Matsukawabake  , gr matsukawabake  and then some more gin rin matsukawabake , oh and a doitsu ochiba lol ! They were so nice , i couldnt live them behind ! Paperwork , pics and videos done , we moved on up for the appointment with Yagenji .

           We arrived expecting to see the hords of people at Yagenji , and was shocked to see the farm empty , and the younger brother looking quiet bored , id soon put paid to that . When i say empty , a solitary figure , that looked familiar at the back off the fish house , as i got close i saw a beaming smile , and it was Gary Pritchard of BKKS judging fame , a friendly guy willing to chat and natter about anything koi . We shook hands and had a chat , but then had to crack on , as there was new koi in the farm , and i was on the case ! I bowled a nice doitsu karashigoi , around 70cm, and a nice sanke , they were nice , but the sanke was very old style , little shiroji but massive blobs of high quality sumi , i loved it , but knew its not for the uk , so declined and they were both returned . While Chris was busy bowling a stunning Asagi , yes a stunning asagi , to the point we nearly had to flip a coin on first dibs , but i knew we were going to Marusei for big koi , so he bowled it . The asagi was very clean , and Gary made some very comlimentry remarks about it before he left , so if your looking for a show class asagi , contact Kitsu koi ! I wondered off and started looking through the rest of the nisai . A few days ago , i noticed a very nice sanke , but lots of dealers had been in the pond , so presumed it was in some way not so good . I saw it again , and thought it was worth bowling along with a tancho showa . The sanke was very nice , interesting pattern , with a full compliment of tsubo sumi , but could not be sexed , and the tancho showa was very nice as well , and Yagenji was sure it was female . So i returned to the first pond , to fill the box with some cheaper koi , and was shocked to find a variety of sanke , gr showa , gr hi utsuri and some kikisui . I was so impressed with the koi for the money , i actually had to many , so had to make up an extra bowl . Very happy , and having some almost 50cm , including females for under £500 , made me even happier , and i hope some of my customers will be !

           After lunch , NO NO NO , stop press , no egg sandwich , ham and salad , oh well , sometimes you have to do these things , plus with an appointment at Marusei for big koi , i thought the vitamins may come in handy .  We arrived at the Utogi tunnel facility , i hadnt been here for years , i saw the old hut where we used to have coffee before the earthquake , the father appeared , and i laughed and reminded him when me and another uk dealer , got drunk drinking whisky and coffee at 10am in the morning witn Sacho , i wont mention the other uk dealers name , as i dont want Brian to be upset lol ! Oh well , memories , we got great prices that day , and was hoping for the same today , i wasnt to be dissapointed . Before i started bowling koi , i wanted to make sure we were all in the same ball park for prices , i soon had 8 big girls in one bloody big bowl .A price was given , i was furious , i said that wasnt what we said , trying to hide my disapointment , the agent said , you asked for 65-75cm koi , you bowled  much bigger , so to prove a point , a chagoi was measured , it rocked in at nearly 86cm , woops ! Now theres two ways to handle this , put the big koi back ,and ask the breeder to catch up the koi , or take the deal offered , my partner in crime , then announced he was joining in the fun and games , there were massive koi in every bowl , before i knew it , a new deal was on the table , Chris and myself were grinning like the Cheshire cats , but old man Hira smiled even more when we said enough , we are finished . Now you might think that selling koi like this all day woud be a dream  , may be so , but also bloody hard work . cant move round bowls , moving koi from bowl for taking pics , to measuring bowls , then to sold koi pond . A massive amount of effort for man in his 70s , but refused help and did it all himself . All the catching and socking , had taken its toll , i looked at the agent , and said enough , early night , he laughed and said its still light , i said that makes a change  and we headed off home . We already have lots of appointments lined up for tomorrow , so three appointments today , i dont care , if they are like that , ill take them every day !

Please note , when dealing with massive koi , in tight spaces , its very hard to get decent pics and videos !

So as you can see , 3 breeders , but so many nice koi , thats the way it goes ............................................................