Moving on from Hiroi Koi Farm we stopped off at Aoki Koi Farm for more surprises. Aoki specialises in a handful of non go-sanke varieties. Asagi, Shusui, Goshiki and Kin Showa are in abundance here. We have had a number of requests for good quality Asagi’s, mainly Nisai but also one or two slightly larger ones.
Our eyes were quickly drawn to a number of larger Asagi for sale, we were expecting them to be out of budget but were pleasantly surprised as to the price quoted. We struck a deal on a very attractive price for all 3.
The first one is Yonsai, 68cm and Female.
The following 2 are Sansai, 62/63cm and Female.
Aoki-San went on to explain about his Asagi parent koi. The parents come from Oya Koi Farm. World famous for his show winning Asagi’s. It is quite common to see Kado-gin on Asagi from this lineage as displayed on the Sansai one above (right), also they typically develop the chubby cheeks which is always a bonus.
We also managed to bowl up a number of Nisai, Goshiki, Asagi and Shusui. Aoki-san by this point had a huge grin and realised he didn’t have many Asagi’s in the koi house left ! The following are 40-45cm and a mix of male and female.
https://queni-koi.wistia.com/medias/wtewveiamv?embedType=iframe&videoWidth=720
Carrying on the theme of Non Go-Sanke, we drove to Otsuka Koi Farm. Otsuka breeds mainly, Asagi, Ki Utsuri, Matsuba, Chagoi and everything in between.
On peering into the ponds, there were a handful of koi we didn’t recognise from our visit the other night. We asked Otsuka-san where these koi were previously as he had mentioned he had finished harvesting koi. He chuckled to himself and said “secret koi house”. Breeders love to hold koi back, especially if they are koi that he feels would be hard to sell when younger for the price he so rightly deserves for breeding such quality koi. We grabbed the net and duly bowled a Shiro Utsuri and Kage Shiro Utsuri. Otsuka-san gasped as we netted a Shiro Utsuri, he soon had his head in his hands.
We were absolutely blown away when we saw the Shiro Utsuri in the bowl. Sansai and around 63cm. This koi was exceptional. This kind of koi at a Southern Breeder would have no doubt cost 5x than what it did here. Strong body shape for Shiro Utsuri, lustrous sumi, soft yet brilliant white. Not to mention the inazuma type pattern. This koi was a total gem of a find.
Then we bowled a Kage Shiro Utsuri, certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but at 68cm. This was a superb example of the variety. Last year we had 3 Kage Shiro’s from Hosokai Koi Farm, they did split a room of people in half, but good examples are hard not to like. Especially at a large size. 68cm and Yonsai.
One more koi purchased was a Yonsai Asagi. No pictures or videos though!! You'll have to wait to see that one. Some koi are best kept secret.
How could I nearly forget this next one. Remember the huge gem I mentioned a few days ago ?
Looking into a pond at Otsuka viewing much larger koi, the smallest was probably around 70cm. A mix of Aka Matsuba, Asagi, Kigoi, Chagoi and one or two other varieties. A ginormous Chagoi was an absolute battleship. It looked to be around the 1m mark. On closer inspection, it was perfectly clean, the head shape was in good proportion to the body. No body issues. All in all a perfect Chagoi. Otsuka-san informed us she had grown 10cm this year!! She is now Rokusai (sixth year). Now we wouldn’t normally buy such a beast, but this koi is exceptional. She’ll be shipped back in Spring.
96cm of pure class.
Excuse the poor video, Otsuka-san did not want to bowl her and nor did we want to risk damaging her ! Here is a video clip taken of her in the pond.
https://queni-koi.wistia.com/medias/nt87puci8e?embedType=iframe&videoWidth=720
That’s all for Day 3, a hectic one! Same again tomorrow, but this time it’s Kohaku time!
