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Visit to the Homeland of Nishikigoi - Japan

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Mohan Ghandi
Member

Nov 5, 2005, 2:53 PM

Post #1 of 101 (7597 views)
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On the 29th Oct. 2005, five koi hobbyists namely Dr Teh, Hong, Ng, Hwong and myself arrived at the Fukuoka Airport in the cold Autumn morning. We were met there by Yang, a diehard koi lunatic who was already there and Lee of Taiwan , a koi dealer.

We spent three days at Sakai Farm Hiroshima, which was the centre of attraction where we saw some huge jumbo kois and spent another few days at Niigata, the worldcentre for Nishigikoi where we visited elegant koi farm like Matsunoko, Dainichi, Maruda, Marusoh, Oomo, Nogami, Kaneko , Igarashi, and Sentaro Koi Farms.

We left for Tokyo on the 3rd Nov 05 and spent the whole day there and on the 4th Nov 05 left Narita Airport for home - blissful and bagful of kois. Among us, we purchased about 20 kois. I am posting the Inasuma Kohaku that I purchased at Sakai Farm and I will post the other kois I purchased at a later stage as I do not have the photos. It goes without saying that the other members of this unforgettable trip who are also ardent forumist like Dr.Teh and Hwong will make this forum lively and exciting by posting their side of the story coupled with photos Wink

.

As we landed only yesterday evening, I am jaded but the urge to keep the fun going and to share the experience with other hobbyist, I have started this thread especially for those the idea to visit the birthplace of the Nishikigoi is in the pipeline Smile

.

Last but not least, I thought the hobby is only completed by visitng the birtplace of Nishigikoi but the reality is it appears it is only begining now Wink

HKK.
Mohan.
Hkk
Mohan. Cool

(This post was edited by Mohan Ghandi on Nov 5, 2005, 3:02 PM)

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koi@kit
Senior Member

Nov 5, 2005, 4:37 PM

Post #2 of 101 (7581 views)
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hi mohan,

massive koi.. beautiful.... wats the size and the age??

Mohan Ghandi
Member

Nov 5, 2005, 7:37 PM

Post #3 of 101 (7549 views)
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Hi Koi@kit,

The size is 54cm (Birthdate-May 2004) and a Nissai from Sakai Farm.

Just wait, more massive kois by the others will take the limelight.

Here is another pix - just before the first day's mission to the Sakai Farm.

Before the invasion of the Sakai Farm - Ng, Dr. Teh, Mohan and Yang.

HKK.
Mohan.
Hkk
Mohan. Cool

(This post was edited by Mohan Ghandi on Nov 5, 2005, 8:16 PM)

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larz1
Koi Kichi

Nov 5, 2005, 8:43 PM

Post #4 of 101 (7530 views)
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If as you say the others will wow us even more then we have much to look forward to Cool

. The body on this one is amazing and the pattern is excellent. Very clean and crisp hi and shiro. Thank you Mohan for being one of the members that sets a standard for those of us who are newer to the hobby to strive for.

dtbh
Member

Nov 6, 2005, 11:57 AM

Post #5 of 101 (7460 views)
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Yes, we indeed had a wonderful trip to Japan with koi hunting morning, afternoon and late evening (it gets dark at about 5pm...and cold too). Practically eat,sleep, drink koi the whole duration of the trip. It was a first for Mohan and our ZNA KL Chapter president Hong and a 2nd for the rest. An eye opener for those who thought koi was just part of the landscape but at the end of the trip the reverse was found to be more appropriate. The number of beautiful kois were mind-boggling many of which will never reach our shores for economic reasons.

Unfortunately I did not bring my digital camera as I had to lug along my videocam. However I do have some photos (attached to the certs that came with the kois we bought). I will scan them and have them posted as soon as I can.

My version of the story? Well, we left KLIA in the wee hours of the morning of Oct 29th and landed at Fukuoka airport in the morning (7+?)of the same day. We were met by Yang and our Taiwanese dealer friend Lee. We took the shinkansen to Mihara where we left our luggage at the hotel (too early to check in) and had our breakfast of Ramen (noodles). Talking about luggage some of us probably brought enough to last for a month but my goodself just had a hand luggage. YK Ng had a big suitcase with another hand-luggage as big as mine. If any of you have any plans to do koi hunting in Japan I would advise you to do the same ie bring the minimum as there will be a lot of moving around.

We were subsequently transported by a van sent by Sakai Fish Farm to the hills where the farm is located. Those who suffer from motion sickness are adviced to take their pills as a prevention. The first day was a "browsing" day as the number of kois were too many to identify the few that we (or I) could afford. Of course there were many varieties but as we were aware that SFF are famous for their gosanke (Kohaku and sanke specifically) we just zeroed our radar on these. Yang and I finally got to see our nissai kohakus (offspring of Miss Universe) which were harvested on that day. We were satisfied with these purchases in April and had a few months sojourn in a mudpond. Mine grew from 39cm to 56cm. I will get the photos from the others and have her posted when available. She will be coming home in a few weeks' time. Time indeed flew, as is always the case when one is enjoying the moment, and we were transported down to Mihara where we had our own dinner of Japanese cuisine (of course).

The next morning after our breakfast it was up the mountain again. It was a day of shortlisting the kois we liked (believe you me it was many) and placed them in a separate netted pond for further considerations and price negotiations. There was one very beautiful nissai by Miss Universe priced at 2.5million yen which everyone agreed was a very good koi. Unfortunately it was priced beyond many of us and when one of us finally attemted to negotiate for it a few days later while on our way to Niigata it was already sold apparently at that price. Will again post her photo if I can get hold of it from the others. Incidentally it is sad to note that Miss Universe succumbed to the latest breeding attempt which was unsuccessful. I am glad I have a piece of her legacy.

For those who want an indication as to the number of kois we were exposed to, there were hundreds of pieces of gosanke that would have cost about RM10000 (yes, ten thousand RM) when they arrive at our shores if they were brought in by our local dealers. These were kept in the old greenhouse. In the new greenhouse which housed 30 3.65x20x1.7m ponds there were many higher quality kois to be viewed. These were priced 2x or more than those in the old greenhouse.....and there were many (in the hundreds again). One of the nissai there was sold for 3.8million yen when auctioned as a tosai. Some of the oyagois were there (some in the old greenhouse) one of which attracted our attention. This 86cm Kohaku belongs to our S'porean ZNA president Richard Tan and appropriately named R kohaku. Her beauty was beyond words and I believe she will win some prices soon. Yang and Ng bought one each of her nissai offsprings. Yang's piece will be kept in the mudpond for another year while Ng will bring his back soon.

Another oyagoi that caught our attention was Big Rose....a monster of a koi at 90+cm. Her offsrings have the bone structure to be jumboes themselves and I being a sucker for good bodies bought one (photo tommorrow) as well as Yang and initially Hwong. I say "initially" Hwong because when he bought his he was told that she was an offspring of Big Rose (same bone structure as ours) but later turned out to be an offspring of Beauty Four. Mine measured 61.5cm and will be sent home soon while Yang's (62cm) and Hwong's (58cm) will stay another year at the mudpond. We want to compare how different they will be in a year. Price? Not cheap and if there were to be purchased back home will more expensive than the cost of the koi plus the trip to Japan. See? It may be worthwhile to do koi hunting in Japan if one wants to buy good kois and see kois in the hundreds that will never reach our shores.

Of course Mohan bought his kohaku and you all have already seen her photo. We had other purchases and I will post the photos tommorrow. Just in case any of you get the wrong idea there are cheaper kois available. As these are easily seen at our local dealers' facilities we did not waste our time on them.

In the blink of an eye it was already time for dinner. This time it was hosted by Kentaro-san at a restaurant that incidentally had a Halloween theme. Good Japanese food, great company, and satisfied customers with excellent purchases. I need not say more.

The next day was very similar to the day before with some "fine tuning" of our purchases. We looked at the kois again and again to marvel at the quality that SFF can produce. Of course I netted my Ms Universe offspring nissai to have a closer look and "touched" her for the first time. I am glad I made this earlier purchase.

We had lunch at the family home of the Sakais. The house was another sight to behold with a beautiful landscaped bonsai garden and a medium-sized pond in the middle. Apparently it cost 1 million yen to mantain per year. We were joined by another group from S'pore (another big player). Nothing much happened after lunch. We had another dinner hosted by SFF. This time both Kentaro's dad and uncle joined us. We had a great time. It was then that we coined the term Yasui-san (Cheap-san) for the M'sian team who always wanted to bargain. Sly

We were subsequently sent to the Airport Hotel in Hiroshima to spent the night there as our flight to Niigata the next morning was at 7+am. This hotel is just 10min's walk from the airport.

I think I have bored you guys enough for the time being (and I have to attend a Hari Raya Open House shortly). I will post the story of our trip to Niigata later.

koi@kit
Senior Member

Nov 6, 2005, 8:22 PM

Post #6 of 101 (7391 views)
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Hi there mohan,

thank for sharing ur wonderful koi and experience with us.. from the photo "before going sakai farm".. look more like koi gangster than koi hunter hahahahahahaha... just jocking geng.. please keep the photo coming Wink

koi@kit
Senior Member

Nov 6, 2005, 8:26 PM

Post #7 of 101 (7387 views)
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Re: [dtbh] Visit to the Homeland of Nishikigoi - Japan [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Dr Teh,

ur koi story surely will not bored me Wink

..please tell me more.... Laugh

Mohan Ghandi
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 9:25 AM

Post #8 of 101 (7328 views)
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Hello there,

Larz,
Thanks! Dr Teh must have perplexed you with his story Wink

.

Koi@kit,
'Look like koi gangster' - That is the reason why perhaps,Sakai sold us the best out of the best and pampered us with lunch and dinner at the best restaurants and the Senior Sakai personally sent us to Hiroshima Hotel Laugh

.

Dr Teh,
Although I'm part of the fun team, I enjoyed the story - what about others?. I'm waiting like the koi is out of the water to have the Niigata story and photos.

My digital camera failed me at the crucial moment ( faulty batteries) Unsure

but, I'm sure the other members will endow me with the photos to post them and perhaps do a photo album Wink

.

HKK.
Mohan.
Hkk
Mohan. Cool

dtbh
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 10:40 AM

Post #9 of 101 (7318 views)
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Attached is the photo of the Big Rose nissai offspring that I bought. Not much of a pattern (middle hi too narrow) but I like the skin quality and esp the body.

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Big Rose 61.5cm Nov05.JPG (75.6 KB)

dtbh
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 10:49 AM

Post #10 of 101 (7311 views)
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Attached are Hwong's kohaku (offspring of M kohaku) and sanke (Shining Rose)

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M Kohaku Nov05.JPG (84.4 KB)

Shining Rose Sanke Nov05.JPG (84.2 KB)

HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:03 PM

Post #11 of 101 (7176 views)
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Doc Teh has said it all and I will just post the pics.

(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:07 PM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:10 PM

Post #12 of 101 (7170 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:14 PM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:15 PM

Post #13 of 101 (7166 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:17 PM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:19 PM

Post #14 of 101 (7163 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:20 PM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:25 PM

Post #15 of 101 (7160 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:26 PM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 9, 2005, 10:27 PM

Post #16 of 101 (7157 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 9, 2005, 10:29 PM)

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cuda
Koi Lover

Nov 9, 2005, 10:53 PM

Post #17 of 101 (7153 views)
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Hi: can you tell me who is who in the gangsta pic. (that's a new york accent, but I'm from Alabama orignially we'd say gaingstur, or, yall...) I can recognize the koi and have a koi face to put to the name,however, I don't know who is who that uses the forum. I enjoyed the story a lot and the pics were great. I was salivating with lust over the koi. Envy Envy and my hope is some day to have a pond worthy of such beauties or even to see such a beauty in person! wow! Thanks for sharing the experience. Boring, you gotta be kiddin, it was wonderful. wow!
thanks, cuda

Once I tried too hard to control things in the pond....the frogs left.

larz1
Koi Kichi

Nov 9, 2005, 11:12 PM

Post #18 of 101 (7152 views)
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Good Doctor,
Thanks so much for the story and no, I doubt you bored anyone. (maybe made a few jealous, but hopefully zealous instead Wink

)
Been having trouble getting on the forum the past few days (much thanks to Khoo for working so hard these past 2 days), but it has been worth the wait.
The crisp coloring and patterns of these koi are wonderful, and Mohan was right. The other pictures have definitely "wowed" us all. Thank all of you for sharing your adventure with us Cool

HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 10, 2005, 12:01 AM

Post #19 of 101 (7148 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 10, 2005, 12:03 AM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 10, 2005, 12:04 AM

Post #20 of 101 (7145 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 10, 2005, 12:05 AM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 10, 2005, 12:07 AM

Post #21 of 101 (7142 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 10, 2005, 12:10 AM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 10, 2005, 12:12 AM

Post #22 of 101 (7137 views)
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(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 10, 2005, 12:13 AM)

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HWONG
Koi Addict

Nov 10, 2005, 12:15 AM

Post #23 of 101 (7133 views)
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This is the Beautiful Japanese garden at the Sakai family home.

(This post was edited by HWONG on Nov 10, 2005, 12:18 AM)

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larz1
Koi Kichi

Nov 10, 2005, 2:31 AM

Post #24 of 101 (7093 views)
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Thank you so much for these photo's. The patterns, bodies, and color of your koi are as excellent as the rest. Very strong and powerful Inazuma. (I've never thought of describeing a koi as a "cheroot" before), but it looks every bit as fine as a "Burmese Cheroot" smokes Wink

. (I've always had a weakness for them).

koi@kit
Senior Member

Nov 10, 2005, 9:25 AM

Post #25 of 101 (7030 views)
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hi hwong, Dr teh n mohan,

thank you all very much for sharing ur wonderful xperience with us, wonderful picture, excellant kois... Wink

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