We left the hotel a little earlier today , as our first destination was Sekiguchi koi farm . This is reached by a 40 minute journey on the motorway , so a little extra time is needed to get there by 9am . I hadnt been to the farm for a year or so , as either him or us had been busy , the first thing that hit me was two more fish houses had been built , great sign that the breeder is busy . We started in one fish house , and i started bowling some smaller nisai from 30cm , half way through i realized , that although the koi were very nice , it wasnt what we had come for , so i apologised , stopped and put the fish back . We then went into another fish house , and taken to a pond of males around 45-50cm , once again although great quality , not what i had come for . So into anther fish house , and to two ponds full of nisai . I soon had 8 nice female showa in a bowl , including a tancho showa , in the pond it diddnt look as what i had hoped , so we bowled her up , and she looked way better ! . A price was given , and the price was fair , but i wanted better , so Sekiguchi suggested 12 showa was a number he was happy for the price i wanted , i looked at what i had left in the pond , and soon had another 4 in the bowl i wanted . In fact , there was two in the bowl we hadnt selected , and i was really thinking about them as well , but we had some great koi at a great price , so i left the last two , took the videos and pics of the 12 very nice quaity koi i had in the bowls . All 12 koi are female and around 50-55cm , couple were slightly smaller .
We said our good byes , and hurried off to the next breeder , to be honest i dont think we had a clue that so much would be bought at Sekiguchi , and it left as tight for time for the next breeder Satoshi Tanaka , which lucky enough for us , was just round the corner . When we arrived the breeder was sitting in his van waiting , not good as i hate being late , especially in the harvest season , the breeders have so little time ! We said hello , and he took us in the fish house , gave us a quick tour , told us all the prices of all the koi then gave us a net , couple of bowls and a sock , and said sorry ive got to go , heres a floating net , put all the koi in there that you want . So for a second time , a breeders left us to get on with the job in hand . Satoshi , does some very nice quality koi , and i think his speciality is kujaku , so i soon started bowling up siome nice ones , all around 35-40cm . I looked into the next pond , and there was kin showa , really nice and clean , maruten pattern , it had an almost kindai feel to it . although alot more money than the kujaku , i just had to take it , i hope the pics and video do it justice . So i added it to the mix , and had some very nice quaity koi .
Kujaku 35-40cm . great quality !
Kin showa , really liked this , cant remember when i saw one that really did it for me like this ! Had a real tategoi feel to it !
After finishing off , and tidying up , we left Tanakas , and headed back for a long drive to Ojiya , interupted by a normal stop in the 7-11 , im trying to skip bread and sugar where i can now , so a salad and a boiled egg made a nice change , washed down by the eternal can of hot coffee . Just on the outside of Ojiya we decided to visit Yamazaki as i needed platinum ogons for one of the koi dealers we supply . I started looking through the ponds and found only one that was clean enough , but a stunning little doitsu one , a doitsu hariwake , an ochiba and a doitsu sanke . All very clean koi , and nice examples .
I was then shown a more expensive pond , where there was a nice doitsu shiro utsuri around 35-40cm , Yamazaki thought it night be female , not so much high class , as really striking , and strong sumi and great motoguru , i purchase it straight away , along with a great doitsu Karashigoi , 40-45cm , may be bigger and female !!
Once again , very happy , three breeders and got the fish we required more or less , and some great koi for the uk . Pics were taken , and then we rang Choguru to see about more platinum ogons , he didnt answer , and as we were a few hundred yards away , we went there anyway . When we arrived , we saw he had a large party already there , so we said hello and went on our way . We very rarely visit a breeder without an appointment , and if do do turn up with out one , and they are busy , then we leave . i just think its more professional , its a shame some others dont work the same way ! So being in the neighbourhood , we decided to viist Marusei koi farm . Now i know alot of you have visited this farm but for those who havnt , i dont know how to begin to explain the sheer size of this operation . Its massive , thats all i can say , one of the largest in Japan , and get crazy busy . Known for so many varieties , asagi , chagoi , go sane , ogons , mukashi ogon , shusui , and many mnay more . I always tend to try and buy bigger koi here , he has small nisai , but i always struggle for quality in those sizes , but his sansai for me , are where i like to buy . We looked through many ponds , and were given an indication of price , as there is so many sizes the prices are not always bthe same for the koi in the pond . I found a pond of sanke that looked like it might fit what i was looking for , i knew roughly the price , and thought 55cm koi sansai , not too bad . So i got a bet , and the first sanke was bigger than the net , i looked at Yoshiuke and shrugged , he said yonsai , and gave me the size in Japanese , i felt like the bloke in Jaws , " i think were gonna need a bigger net " . So a bigger net was brought out , i was over the moon , the sansai 55cm koi i had priced were really 60-70cm yonsai ! Four sanke were bowled , and duly purchased , this day coumldnt have got any better , or could it ? I finished off taking pictures , and i couldnt help noticing in another pond , a kindai showa , shiro and asagi . I made the mistake of getting them bowled before asking the price , the asagi shook me a little , it was wayyyyyyy better than i thought , sansai and around 55cm sansai , the kindai was 50-55m and totally stunning ! The shiro was then added to the bow , and the skin was very good along with the pattern and sound 55cm and sansai ,. I really wasnt looking forward to the price , as i knew these were very nice koi , Yoshiuke looked at the bowl of the sanke , and just gave us a price for all the yonsai and sansai , took about bite his arm off , i coukdnt believe the prices , dont get me wrong , they werent cheap , but VERY fair for the koi infront of me . it was gone four , and i said toteh agent , lets find the kujaku i hd reserved for me and call it a day , he looked shocked , i said im knackered , my back is aching and we have had a bloody good day ! He laughed and said i cant argue with that . We looked in the sold pond , and found a female Kujaku i had reserved earlier in the week , once again very happy , and headed off back to the hotel , i have to say i can remember when the mountains of Niigata had been so good to me , it has had to be one of the best days buying i can remember for a long time !
This is going to seem crazy to some of you , but i was so peased with all the koi today , i actually forgot to measure the sizes of these sansai and yonsai .First sanke id have to estimate around 70cm .
Next sanke around 60-65cm
Sanke approx 60-65cm
Last sanke also 60-65cm approx .
Sansai kindai showa , female 50-55cm approx , stunning skin quaity !
Sansai asagi , around 55cm , really liked this one as well !
Sansai shiro utsuri , aroud 55cm and female .
Thats the end of a very enjoyable day , some great koi bought at what i think are very good prices , we were hoping to harvest our Azuakri koi at Maruhiro , but that now looks like it will be the weekend , due to the amount of rain we have had , but loads to do tomorrow instead , so onwards and forwards as they say . See you all tomorrow ! Just one more i forgot , 60cm Kujaku , outragious reticulation , and bright beni !