Koi magazine in Japan
Last week I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of visiting the Niigata region of Japan on a Koi buying trip. I was taken out there by Hanney Aquatics, a Koi company based in Oxfordshire. Allan Kahl, Manager of the company, had been out a week earlier with the owners of Cotswold Koi as well as his son, Darren, and a customer, Nick. The following week Cotswold Koi and Darren returned to the UK and were replaced by myself and Marion Carter, owner of Hanney Aquatics.
We were all led around Japan by Gary Clarke of Echigo Imports, who Hanney Aquatics work with to choose the best Koi for their customers and get them shipped without any problems.

(image left – Allan Kahl and Gary Clarke netting at Miyatora)

Gary has been going back and forth to Japan for many, many years and has built up solid relationships with a wide variety of the region’s breeders. This meant that, in total, we visited around 32 breeders in a week. Hitting this many breeders in this amount of time created an environment that was really educational for me – I learnt a massive amount about breeding Koi and choosing Koi, saw every single variety and age of Koi that you could imagine, photographed good value Koi as well as £60,000 Koi, and got a real insight into how the business side of things runs over there as well. On top of that, with a Hanney Aquatics customer also in the group, I got a real flavour of what a hobbyist would get out of a magical tour like this one.

(image right – Doitsu Go-Sanke from Shinoda)

 Yamakoshi and Niigata

To say I had a fantastic time would be the understatement of the century. The countryside around the Niigata prefecture is absolutely stunning, and with 6ft of snow piled high, it was even more breathtaking. (image left – Niigata valley)

The Japanese people we met were so friendly, the food was great and the measures in the bars were very generous – or is that dangerous?! Above all, though, the trip was about the beauty of Nishikigoi and, to be absolutely honest, there was nothing that could have prepared me for how overwhelming it was to see such awesome Koi being grown and sold by the masters.

Visiting some of the breeders was like opening a jewel box – they’re bursting with colour and quality and my camera practically had steam coming out of it by the end of the trip. (image right – Koi from Hirasawa/Murusei Koi Farm)

I’m going to be writing in-depth about my visit in the May issue of Koi, which goes on sale on 1 April, so don’t miss it. In the meantime, here are a few more photos to give you an idea of just what a trip to Japan has to offer a Koi keeper.

(image right – a pet cat sniffs out Hosokai's top tosai)

(image left - one of Kaneko's many Koi ponds)

(image right – a snowy day at Ikarashi Kazuto's fish house)

(image left - me feeding the monster Chag at the Koi museum)

(image right – Izumiya's Koi house. Prices not for the faint-hearted!)

(image left – beautiful Hasegawa Go-Sanke)

Hanney Aquatics can be contacted by phone on 01235 867156 or by mobile on 07710 503635. If you fancy a visit, their address is: Hanney Aquatics, Malthouse Bungalow, East Hanney, Wantage, Oxfordshire OX12 0HX.

Beckie Rodgers, Editor

(image right – me photographed with Kase on the far right)