Day Two

After the perfect start of breakfast at the New Otani, it was off to collect the hire car before heading into the mountains for the first time.

Mushio (A member of the Richdon Forum) will laugh I’m sure when he reads that we are driving round in toaster. The model name is the Cube, which describes the body shape perfectly. At least it has 4WD, which will be essential with all the snow round here. Watch out for the ice shouted Toru as we walked out to the car, too late though for Christie who hit the ground with a thud. Rugby fans though will know that they make them tough in South Africa and he brushed himself down with a smile on his face and made his way to the car.

It was great to find more roads had re-opened since the earthquake and we were able to take a more direct route to the breeders than had been the case since the earthquake.

I have a very limited budget and shopping list for this trip, so I will be spending more time taking it all in rather than looking at potential purchases, and with most of the breeders away at the All Japan Show, today would be one of those days.

First stop was Masaki. A look at the Sansai first revealed a few nice Shiro Utsuri’s and a very nice Asagi, but nothing was bowled here and we moved on to the Nissai, where both the dealers purchased a box of mixed varieties. We then took a look at the Tosai where there were some very decent Shiro Utsuri at a sensible price along with a selection of other varieties. I managed to test the depth of the snow at one stage as I sunk in almost to waist level and had great fun extricating myself. Definitely a need to follow in others footsteps this week if you don’t want to be lost until the Spring thaw.

After coffee with Masaki we drove a short distance to take a look at what Hiroi had in stock. We knew that the father and both sons were away at the show, but had arranged for the mother to let us in a take a look. We were not disappointed as all the ponds were full with some excellent Goshiki and other varieties. We will definitely be back later in the week for a better look.

After that Toru needed a break for lunch. It was obviously not the hectic schedule that I'm used to when travelling with Richdon, when Toru rarely gets such luxuries as a lunch break and has to grab a sandwich on the move if he wants to eat. We popped in to the shop at the koi museum to allow the purchase of souvenirs before taking time out to eat.

After lunch it was off to Otsuka, where both the dealers made Nissai purchases again. There were some nice larger koi, especially his best Asagi’s, but they were not on the shopping list this time.

That took a fair bit of time out f the schedule, and it was then round to a few breeders that were away to assess the stock for later in the week.

First we visited Torazo where I saw ‘Hammerhead’, a Kohaku with a very unique pattern that had interested me last year, but had been in Toru’s view overpriced. Typically it was now much bigger, well over 70cm, and in excellent condition. It was however apparently now sold so I would not get the chance to find out what it would have cost this year. There were not a lot of older koi left at Torazo, but a reasonable number of large Nissai at a decent price as well as plenty of Tosai that looked in very good health, so we will be back.

It was then on to Jirosuke, a dealer I haven’t visited since 2003 and the memories came flooding back when I saw the stocking levels in the ponds. I had warned the South Africans about it before we got there, but it still amazes you. The water is boiling away in places with the volume of air being pumped in to deal with these stocking levels. There are no specimen koi at this breeders, but a wide selection of varieties at cheaper prices, so I’m sure the dealers will stock up there at some stage this week.

The final stop was at Isa’s Sansai house, which is always a pleasure. Every koi is a great specimen of it’s variety, mostly showa, and you would be happy taking any of them home. One Sansai really took my eye and I hope to get a better look at her later in the week. Even the old parent koi that have lost a lot of their patterns are still in great condition.

That was it on a quiet day with so many breeders away, but things should get busier from now.

Dinner was curry and rice tonight where you buy a curry with a heat rating from 1 – 10, and they only let you move up through levels 6 – 10 when you have eaten a level 5 before. I had been a few times before and thought I remembered how hot the curries were, so had a go at a level 6. I realised pretty soon that I had reached a level I could enjoy, but did not want to go beyond. Definitely a hotter than average Vindaloo level, so I don’t know who would be foolish enough to try the level 10!

Back to the hotel and where I sorted out the plans for tomorrow with Toru, as well as discussing other options for the week. I have long enough here in Niigata to visit any of the breeders we wish, but as some are a fair drive away, it will be necessay to check by phone that they have enough stock at the right prices to make the journey worthwhile.

Once again couldn’t sleep through the night, so this has been finished in the early hours whils watching CNN.