As you read this post we should be over Russia on our way to Japan.
This is already our second buying trip of the year with the first being the All Japan Koi Show trip in February… It is amazing how fast these trips come around now.
So Tim will leave Manchester Airport at 10am and then a short crossing to Amsterdam. Then the main flight which is around 12 hours none stop to Japan.
Arriving in Tokyo on Tuesday morning at 9am! Then its the Narita Express into Tokyo Station and the famous bullet Train up to Nagaoka. Pick the car up, then straight up to the mountains.
We have 2 clients with us this trip and they are both dealers who are also looking for special, hand picked Koi for their clients.
We have orders as usual for a range of Koi but mostly Tosai and Nisai this time of year.
This time of year is very frustrating, like in any business we have to find Koi that suit our budget, we have had the same Tosai prices at Quality Nishikigoi for the last 5 years or so and we need to find Koi at the same prices we have paid before. Will those Koi be available? Will they be available at the prices we need?
In the Autumn you are falling over Koi, you can easily find whatever you need in a short period…Tosai on the other hand are difficult to find. We not only need the price, we also need the variety. I only ever buy my tosai from 2 breeders, one breeder if they have everything I need. It makes life easy for the Quarantine when we get them back to the UK. We can give the Koi a lot more space on arrival instead of smaller space and more breeders, if you get what I mean.
Tosai are also the hardest to QT. They are pretty weak when they get to us so we have to give them a lot of TLC to get them to 100%, space and fresh water is key.
However, we need to find them first!!
So we travel to Japan, to the best place to find them in the world. We are also hand picking our Koi, not just buying them from a list, we want to see what we are buying in the flesh so in turn the customers can have full confidence in the Koi we bring back, we know our market.
I will try and get Koi up for sale on the website while I am away, I will include the shipping etc on the prices so any price on the website will be landed back in the UK and includes QT. I say I will try because when you are running round the breeders, trying to take a decent picture on the ‘Go’ is sometimes crazy. If I do get good pictures and video I will post them with the prices.
So fingers crossed we will be able to find the Koi we need!!
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