Koitrips – Re-cap, and a Happy New Year!

We have not posted for a little while because the site is being moved over to our new dedicated server, we had quite a few issues with it previously because it was on a ‘cheap’ server which caused us hassle. Hopefully that will not happen anymore.

It is amazing when I first put the site together, we had no idea that it would have taken off so well.
I have taken guests to Japan for over 20 years, sometimes spending up to 8 weeks in one go in Japan, with a different set of clients from all over the world each and every week!

Those days were very different to the days we see today in Japan. The Economy of people in Europe is nowhere near as busy as the 90’s and early 00’s.

However, I think with the drop in the amount of High Class Koi getting imported into dealer’s shops, the best way of getting the Koi you want is either by buying through a dealer in Japan, or VISIT JAPAN!

We have found many are taking this option. In 2013 we took one client out with us, in 2014 we took 8 people, in 2015 it was up to 18, 2016 was the highest at 23 and 2017 we had 24! We are fully booked for the All Japan Koi Show trip this coming February. We have some dealers booked for the Spring trip and already have one of the trips for Autumn now booked.

I will re-cap on the trips, more info can be found on the website under Trips.

In February, we visit the All Japan Koi Show which is, without any doubt the greatest Koi Show on Earth. The best Koi from Japan are on show for the public and everyone else to see. There can be over 3000 Koi entered at the show, which takes place in the Heart of Tokyo.

This is a quite relaxed trip, there is no rush here at all.

• Arrive Tokyo on Friday morning
• Check in beautiful Tokyo Hotel (With onsite TGI’s!!)
• Saturday Morning get the mono rail to the Show site which is fully indoors
• Spend all day Saturday at the All Japan Koi Show
• Saturday Evening have dinner (Maybe with a breeder)
• Sunday morning back to the Show
• Sunday Afternoon, Leave Tokyo.
• Bullit Train to the Niigata mountains
• Arrive Nagaoka, New Otani Hotel Sunday Afternoon
• Monday visiting the Niigata breeders and seeing the wonderful snow!
• Tuesday another day in the mountains
• Tuesday afternoon, leave for Isawa. Home of Matsunosuke
• Wednesday day time, visit the numerous Matsunosuke facilities
• Wednesday evening head to the Airport and one night’s stay in Narita
• Thursday fly home.

The Koi Show trip is a very cool trip. With going to the show at the start of the trip the talk for the rest of the week is about how good those Koi were!
The Snow in the mountains is stunning, sometimes with snow fall of 2/3 metres per night but the roads are ALWAYS clear!
The breeders are more chilled out. Of course, all Koi are still for sale. The breeders all have heated Koi Houses so you will still see lots of Koi, in all sizes and qualities.

Just a few of the breeders you will see in the short time we are in the mountains

• Shintaro
• Yagenji
• Yamamatsu
• Igarashi
• Izumiya
• Marudo
• Isa
• Dainichi
• Torazo
• Marusei
• Yamazaki
• Kaneko
• Hirasawa
• Marusho (Mushigame)

And more…

Then we take the trip down to Matsunosuke in Isawa. This is where some of the best Koi are bred. You will see some unbelievable Koi at these facilities.

The final evening stay in Narita which is a lovely little village before we fly out the following morning. *This can change depending on the Airport we fly into.

Then we have the Spring buying trip to Japan.

The 3 trips we do are very different, even though it all just seems we jump on a plane and go buy Koi. Each trip is different in many respects.
The Spring trip is mainly but not exclusively for Tosai (1 Year olds) this is when the breeders have grown all their new babies from the previous May/June and now they select their stocks and get ready to pick what Koi will be going into the mud ponds in May.

Now for people who interested in learning about smaller Koi, this trip can be fascinating for you. You can understand what goes on with certain breeders and even see what they are looking at when it comes to Koi breeding.
We take dealers at this time of the year who are looking to buy some Tosai for their markets. Handpicking your own Koi is a service good dealers do. They can pick exactly the right Koi for their clients, which this maybe a little bit more expensive than buying blind boxes on the internet, the Koi standard is MUCH better.

Of course, there are still Koi in Japan at all sizes, qualities and prices. There always are.
So, if you are not looking for Tosai, then bigger Koi are easily found, and some bargains are there to be had!
The trips in Spring range from 5 days to 10 days.
The weather is always nice and warm so light coats are all that’s needed for the evenings.
We will aslo include a trip down to Isawa Nishikigoi Centre (Matsunsouke) which will either be at the start or the end of your trip.

Then we have the Autumn Harvest trip.

For many of our Koitrips clients this is the big one.

The Tosai that were selected while we were there on the Spring trip have now been grown to Nisai, some groing over 20cm in 4 months.
Then the Nisai from the year before are now Sansai! Sansai from the previous are now Yonsai and so on. So, you will see Koi of all sizes including the Jumbo Koi, actually being harvested.
I think the trips that Koitrips do are different from anywhere else. We actually give you a hands-on experience. You will get a pair of waders on and jump in a mudpond and help the breeders. You will feel part of the actual day and not just a spectator.
This is a reason on its own to take the trip with us to Japan.

As with all the trips, Koitrips do not use any agents in Japan. We have no hidden expenses and we have NO restrictions to which breeders we can visit. We can see a truck with water splashing out of the back of it and we follow it!
Many agents restrict their clients to only a handful of breeders your entire visit, we can sometimes do 15 breeders in a day!!
We do re-visit breeders a lot too, this is because in Autumn New Koi can come into them daily. So, it’s nice to check back.
We go EVERYWHERE!
We don’t really have a schedule because it’s impossible to keep…

2 years ago, we called in at Hiroi Seiji, as we arrived he was leaving, he shouted “6am tomorrow morning” and drove off.
We arrived the next morning at 6am and went to one of the best Jumbo Harvests we have ever done. Totally unplanned.
This can happen quite a lot.
You may want a specific Koi and we go looking for it, the breeders are very tight with each other and will help other breeders out no problem at all. So, we visit the first breeder looking for your Koi, but they don’t have it! They have just mentioned that another breeder has one… so we go there. That can happen many times, they are a good network of information when sourcing the best.

Another general rule with ALL the trips is that in the evenings we generally base in Nagaoka City, we always stay at the New Otani Hotel and the surrounding area has some lovely places to eat, all different types of food from all over the world. There is pretty much everything. As a company, we get a discount at the Hotel, which we pass onto our clients.
We get back to the Hotel at around 4.30pm each day after leaving at 9am, we have a good breakfast at the Hotel then we will stop during the day for a quick lunch. Then the evening is free for you to explore the City, or you can just follow me to the cheap bar with free wifi!!

On the All Japan Koi Show when we stay in Tokyo, we do stay in a slightly more higher-class Hotel, which does cost a little more. This is just because we are in the middle of Tokyo. Japan is not a cheap place really, and worse in Tokyo!

With us buying our Koi up in the Niigata mountains, a train from Narita Airport is always the case. Train travel in Japan is costly when compared to other countries but Japan do it much better. The entire population rely on the trains and because of that they are always on time. They are amazing. The train company is the largest employer in Japan.

Narita Airport is classed as Tokyo but it’s an hour’s express train journey from the Tokyo main train station. Tokyo Station is where the Bullet trains all leave from. Then it’s a 2 hour trip (depending on which Bullet train we get) to Nagaoka. This will cost around £100.00 each way. So not cheap, but worth it.

There is more information on the website for all to see. If there are more questions you need answers for then email us info@koitrips.com

We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.