After an evening of darts, we were up feeling refreshed again. The day began at Marusei, where we wanted to get a good overview of the impressive array of large fish swimming around. If you spend a few hours there, you eventually recognise them all, even when there are fifteen of the same variety swimming about. Tiebo from KoiQuestion is just as obsessed with this as I am, which makes the work pleasantly efficient. We were looking for smaller chagoi, but they all turned out to be male. For real bulk, I still prefer females, so they all went back.
Selected at this breeder's
Ai Goromo · 50 cm
Marusei · 26-MAR-AI-001
Chagoi · 70 cm
Marusei · 26-MAR-CH-001
Next, we were invited to Aoki. Normally you have to buy by the box there, but because another customer had already made a substantial selection, we were now allowed to handpick. We didn't need telling twice. We selected some beautiful koi, including two of the so-called yellow Dragon, or Kouryu. A ginrin ginga and a goshiki will also be coming to Marum.
It was also a lovely reunion between the old master Haruo Aoki and Tiebo, who had interviewed him back in 2009. The breeder shared some interesting development photos; it is always astonishing to see how a fish can change in a year.
After our success in the bowls, we took a moment to admire the high-quality metallics for which Aoki is known. It still feels special to have been allowed to select so freely from the finest specimens here.
At Yamajyu, we took our time to study the fish carefully. Among them, we saw a koi with an incredibly lustrous scale pattern on its flank, a fish with real presence.
On the way to our next stop, we marvelled at an enormous black-and-yellow spider hanging from the roof of the greenhouse. You sometimes come across the strangest things in nature here along the way.
Hirasawa's Yokowatashi site is always an impressive sight, with all those tanks and the constant noise of the water.
When we arrived at Takatatsu, an ikeage of the mudpond was just underway. I was allowed to join in drawing sticks and drew number one. The other dealers immediately knew what that meant. I was able to pick out the best kumonryu, a fish that stood head and shoulders above the rest. It was also sold immediately through the WhatsApp group.
We finished the day back at Marusei. As they returned with truckloads of freshly harvested fish, we were literally allowed to rake them in. While the French and Italians were also trying to make their move, we scooped a few fantastic goromo, an asagi and a sanke straight from the bags into our bowl.
What was supposed to be a rest day ended after dark with an incredible haul. We even tried to coax a few top fish out of the other house, using some Dutch cheese to sweeten the deal, but Yoshiyuki held off for the time being. All in all, a fantastic day.