JAPAN • October 21–30, 2019

On October 21, 2019, we return to Japan for the selection of 2-4 year old (and older) koi. The journey lasts ten days: on this page we collect reports, curiosities and—of course—photos of each chosen specimen.

The koi listed will have a referral code - use this at checkout if you wish to purchase a fish.

🇯🇵 Day 1 — October 22, 2019

Fast day (and half rainy). First stop at Aoki , but it's sold out ; second at Suda , king of the butterflies, but still nothing interesting. We pass by Dainichi to admire its “whales” — gosanke over a meter long — and then we move on to Sakazume , a small breeder with an excellent quality/price ratio:

In the afternoon we visit Otsuna (absent, but the koi are promising) and Maruhiro , where the final selection is remarkable:

The day ends with the hope of seeing the sun tomorrow.

🇯🇵 Day 2 — October 23, 2019

Beautiful sunny day! Miyatora surprises us with two custom koi:

It's too crowded at Hirasawa , Yamazaki is closed. We then head to Takahashi : we aim for its very high quality Sanke Doitsu and buy three of them:

I don't pay, I keep "fishing":

A busy day, but the satisfaction makes up for the effort.

🇯🇵 Day 3 — October 24, 2019

Cloudy skies but pleasant weather. First stop at Kaneko Koi Farm : a tank with Kin Kikokuryu , Matsukawabake , and Showa immediately catches our attention:

Climbing towards Yagenji the mountain panorama is splendid, but we don't find what we are looking for. On the way back we discover the Iwashita farm and select some interesting fish:

After a quick lunch break we visit Hirasawa for some top quality Asagi :

In the evening, I wandered around Yamazaki and returned to the hotel for a debriefing.

🇯🇵 Day 4 — October 25, 2019

Rainy morning; we visit several mountain farmers without finding what we need. In the afternoon, meet at Hirasawa for a long selection of Nisai with an unbeatable quality/price ratio:

🇯🇵 Day 5 — October 26, 2019

The weather is still unclear. This morning we select Butterfly Koi (~40 cm Nisai) from one of two specialized breeders:

Visit to Ikarashi : we admire specimens destined for the Niigata Auction and discover four tanks with 80,000 tosai each!

Stop at Kase : the tanks are still full thanks to our early arrival. After visiting the Ojiya Koi Show, we return in the late afternoon to select some splendid Showa :

Another intense day that repays all the effort.

🏁 Last day — October 30, 2019

The adventure comes to an end: time has flown by! Before we say goodbye, here are our latest selections: a top-quality Goshiki and two boxes with unbeatable value.

See you in Italy—and until the next adventure!