Well that’s a wrap for another Tosai buying trip, and like always did we get everything we wanted no, i’m not going to lie to you over the last 4,5 yrs there has been in my opinion a massive change in Japan especially now with so many auctions being held, which at times can be very frustrating as you do see the Koi you would like in some ponds but those are simply not available, as they have been selected by the breeder specifically for his next auction.
That said, by being a tad persistent paid off in the end and by being in Japan a little longer gave us the opportunity to go back several times to breeders and have the chance to purchase from new selections they had made ,which in the end was good and very fruitful for us and we managed to purchase some superb Koi.
This does however now mean i think going forward we need to extend our time in Japan further as it’s proven now that you have to be prepared to not only visit a breeder the once, in hope there are enough Koi of quality for you to select but plan for maybe 2-3 times.
With all that said though we think overall we have managed to select for you some fabulous Tosai from some superb breeders, and of very high quality, and those that know us well and have purchased from us for many years just know i won’t just select any quality just to say iv’e got Tosai, they have to be to the quality not only i expect but you also deserve or i simply walk away.
This year worked well at Ogata as we previously eluded to, we ended up going there 3 times and by doing that it gave us the best chance to obtain what we eventually did, including after speaking with Manabu Ogata himself and him agreeing we could go off the farm where we have on many occasions in the past 20 odd yrs and be allowed to net his very best pond of Tosai available, and baring in mind many in this pond were for his next auction and for showing in Japan (The All Japan Young Koi Show) and the International Koi Show) we simply had to do this……..and were so happy with what i selected there were approx 500-600 koi i guess and even the staff ,and Manabu himself commented after i made my selection of 8 pieces and said i had a very good eye and had selected the best in there, so whilst i am now getting a tad older it still proves my eyes are ok lol…..so after Ogata San took a good look he then gave me the prices, and of course i was expecting these to be very high as the pure quality of what we had selected was going to dictate this, a deal was done and we purchased them, these are all going to go to Shows in Japan and then stay Azukari.
Again Okawa never let us down, a breeder i’ve been visiting for nearly 20yrs now, and we now know all the family so well and have literally watched the Daughters of Yuji Sans elder brother Yoneichi San grow up, from being young children to now married with children quite surreal looking back now, its a farm very close to us and one we will never ever stop visiting we are always so welcomed there and they always ensure Koi have been saved for us and we go home happy,another superb touch is on every occasion we visit we also always spend the evening with them also not just the two brothers Yuji and Yoneichi but theirs wives and daughters and a fabulous evening out dining is always had along most of the time with one or two many drinks…….! but how good has this been over the years having the chance to sit down with the breeder the information we have gained over these nights out has been priceless.
So we hope you like some of what you have seen and read on here we would always like to put even more content out there for you but sadly the days are so hectic time becomes the issue, but we do sincerely hope you did like what we have put on here.
Once the Koi have been shipped and had a little time to settle down we will start to take some nice individual pictures and videos, in the mean time if you have spotted anything on any of our videos or photos to like you can contact us for a price and first refusal or reserve.
