We had two afternoon appointments but a reasonably open morning, so we decided to drop into the breeders in Nagaoka to see what beautiful Japanese koi they had produced over the last year.
Ikarashi Kazuto (Aragoke) , Saito (Kohaku & Kwarimono), Maruboshi (Kohaku) Takanno (Budo & Ki bekko), Odakan (Champions!) and Marudo (Gosanke + Kwarimono), were all visited at reasonable speed to see their forthcoming harvest schedules and make appointments. Marudo was very busy with around 30 far eastern customers waiting for the arrival of a Nisai kohaku harvest.
We also dropped into Marusei to look for particular koi that customers had requested and selected some great examples here. We then moved on to Miyako who breeds many unusual varieties of koi and selected some super 2 & 3 year olds. Last stop was Takahashi Sansai harvest - Its around a 1 hour drive, but always worth the visit. Although no longer a “Showa only” breeder, he produces some stunning fish including many Doitsu varieties. We also quickly checked the nisai purchased a few days ago, which those of you who purchase will be pleased to know they were looking quite happy in their holding pond.
