DAY 5
The next morning at breakfast Jack and Sal were
putting bids my way for the Shiro Utsuri .. but I needed to bring
this special Koi back home with me .. and a really super specimen it
was to .. and we were very proud to show this on our web site .. and
if you do still wish to see this Koi then it is shown on page 1 of
'Past Koi Sold' - I've hyper linked that so you click on that
and visit that page now if you wish .... The Koi was sold at the
National Koi Show held at Stafford in May 1999 together with another
super Kohoku that I picked up from Hasegowa ....
We headed back up the mountains with our first port
of call - Marusada's where I had another look at the Doitsu Sanke
and Kohaku and decided to buy them both ... as they were both very
choice Koi ... Peter picked out one or two nice Koi for Sal who made
no hesitation in buying them ... and again they were some really
nice Koi ...
After that we headed off in the other direction and
ended up at the place that they hold there Spring Auctions and Peter
showed us around - it was very interesting and there was a large
tackle shop, or rather dry goods shop on the site and it was very
interesting just being able to look at and compare some of the
equipment that the Japanese use with our own .. I saw a super
'trawling net' that I would have liked but the difficulty with
buying it would be getting it back home with me on the plane as the
two poles were rather long which would have made life just that
little bit difficult so I left it .. may be next time I may just buy
the netting and ropes without the poles and fit my own poles to it
at this end of the journey ... It was also interesting to see so
many various water and medication treatments available - some of
which are of course on the banned list as far as bringing them back
to the Uk .. but there they were on open sale in Japan ... It was
surely 'Aladdin's Cave ....
We saw them loading an extremely large articulated
truck up with boxes of Koi which were to taken to the Airport ready
to ship out .. in fact we watched as they loaded over 800 boxes ...
but the skill and no how was something else .. they were just like
an army of ants each carrying a box and threading there way through
the army of helpers to the truck and back ...
WE spent so much time there that day that there
really wasn't any time left to do anything else .. so we headed off
in the truck back to the Hotel .... but again a most memorable
day for us all ...
DAY 6
Back on road again .. only this time we were heading
for Ojya City - just a little bit further on ... where once we got
through the city which was draped all over with Koi Banners
announcing Japan's largest Junior Koi Show which was for young Koi
under a certain size (I have forgotten that size so ask you to
forgive me - but that it what comes of not finishing this little
story about my journey before now) ...but it certainly seemed as
though it was going to be a very big occasion ...
Eventually we ended up at Hasegowa's .. probably
someone who's Kohaku I would rate to be of a very high standard and
someone I have dealt with now for over 10 years .. as too has Peter
and he also has high regard for Hasegowa ... I selected one or two
very nice Koi - one of which was the one I mentioned to you earlier
- and then picked a hundred Tosai (1 year olds) which I was
extremely pleased with as I knew full well that our customers would
not be able to resist such quality in young 1 year old Koi with so
much potential ...
We enjoyed a nice drink with both Mr. and Mrs.
Hasegowa in their own home who made us feel very welcome and then it
was time to be on the road again .. heading back up the mountains
from the Ojya City end and we stopped and called at quite a few
breeders premises along the way including Dainichi and one or two
other very well known and respected breeders .. then we were off
again back to our hotel with yet another day gone .. which was to be
the last one that I would spend with Peter and Denis as I had
arranged for Kamishima, a Japanese breeder we have used for over 3
years previous to call and pick me up at the hotel first thing in
the morning and take me the 200 miles to his place at Toyama which
is a large sea-side area where on the outskirts Kamishima had his
own breeding and rearing ponds etc ... so whatever we decided to do
that evening, for me, had to be something special ... The
choice of where we were to go out to eat was left to me - so I
decided that we would return to the small local cafe that Peter took
us all to on our first night in Japan ... the food is good the beer
and wine is good and of course the company where ever we were to go
would be the very best ... Sal and Juliet, the American couple
were also planning to leave Nagaoka the following morning as they
had arranged to meet up with some friends .. so what ever else it
was going to be a farewell party so to speak ...
After the usual rest-up for a couple of hours - a
shower etc we all met down in the hotel lobby ... and when all
present and correct we made our way down to the small cafe again ...
where once we had entered we were made to feel very welcome by the
Japanese owner ... We all sat down in our usual corner which was
empty and waiting for us and we ordered a round of drinks to start
the evening off ... The meal when it finally arrived was well
worth waiting for and during the meal we were joined by Fujio who
was a Japanese friend of Peters and who we had met previously and
who spoke fairly good English ... he sat down and had a few drinks
with us and surprisingly the evening soon went .. and it was time
for all the farewell's and then back to the hotel for the last time
...
DAY 7
Up bright and early I packed my suit case and took
them down to the lobby to await my friend Kamishima .... Peter,
Dennis and the others went down for breakfast and I joined them for
a quick cup of coffee while it was time for Kamishima to arrive
..about 10 minutes later I popped up to the foyer and Kamishima was
there looking for me and with him was a young Japanese girl he had
brought along to act as interpreter ... I invited them to join the
party in the breakfast room and to say hello to Peter who he already
knew ... and ten minutes later we were off in Kamishima's car
heading north (I think) to Toyama ... It was interesting seeing the
surrounding countryside which was extremely picturesque and
Kamishima gave a running commentary as we moved on towards Toyama
...
Once at Toyama we dropped off the young Japanese
girl at her home as apparently she had to go to work .. and Kamisham
took me to a very modern eating house, similar to 'Little Chef' back
in England where we had a most enjoyable meal before heading off to
his home. When we arrived at Kamishima's I was pleasantly surprised
at the beauty and size of Kamishima's house and the settings that
surrounded it ... I was introduced to his mother and father - her
mother and his two children and made to feel very welcome. He
clearly was very proud to show me round his farm which was much
larger than I thought it would be and larger than many that I had
already seen on this journey to Japan. As I would have expected,
seeing his ponds on the internet, they were constructed in concrete
rather than being just mud ponds .. but they were much larger and
had much greater volume of water ... Kamishima's rearing tanks
were large in both number and size and he had many very nice Koi -
far more to be honest than I had originally thought when I first
started dealing with Kamishima. His purpose built shop unit was
right along side the Main road which was convenient for the passing
local Koi enthusiasts of which Japan has many and he told me that
during the summer season that he does get very busy but as this time
of year was out of season business was very quite ... as of course
it is in England during the months of March and April ...
Mrs. Kamishima prepared an evening meal for us all
and seemed very proud and pleased with the food that she had
prepared - it was typical and traditional Japanese food .... and
whilst it looked very different to what I had been used to both
seeing and eating it was extremely interesting to eat .. and very,
very different ... but enjoyable and a wonderful experience to
savor....
After dinner Kamishima told me that we were going
down to one of the local bars for a few beers so I was looking
forward to the rest of the evening but before we left Mrs. Kamishima
directed me to slide back the doors behind me which lead to another
room .. and there in the middle of the floor was a bed that had been
made up especially for me and was of traditional Japanese style of
bed as used for hundreds of years .. the pillow, again being totally
traditional Japanese, was a sack of rice which felt so very hard and
I could not at that time imagine being able to get even a minutes
sleep with my head on such a hard pillow ... Around the room were a
great many photographs of Kamishima's family going back generations
and Kamishima explained to me that I was to sleep with all his
ancestors and that they would look after me through the night ... I
felt very humble and honored at what they had prepared for me....
Down at the local bar there was much night life with
many people singing and dancing and over on a stage there was a
Karaoke machine which was being used continually by the people in
the bar to entertain others .. They seem to make this a way of life
and it reminded me a little of some of those funny clips that we see
on our television sets where the Japanese play silly games - I am
sure that we have all seen them at some time or another .. some are
quite unbelievable ...
As the night wore on and the more beers we put away
the happier we all got and it was not very long after that .. that
Kamishima and one or two of the others we were drinking with
persuaded me to get up to the karaoke machine and give them a song
.. well what had I got to loose .. no one knew me and it did not
matter what sort of a fool I made of myself .. so up and got and
sang Elvis Presley's The Wonder of you ... and although they were
all singing along with me I was very surprised when they all
applauded me when I had finished ..but even I had to admit that I
may have sounded better than some of the would be singers that had
gone before me .... Drinks piled up in front of me and I was
beginning to think that we were there for a week instead of the one
evening .. but Kamishima helped me out with one or two of them
before I was dragged up onto the stage again to sing for them 'I
left my heart in Sanfransisco' and if I had known a song that had
Japan in it's title then that would have been my wish .. they all
made me feel so very welcome no matter where in Japan I had been ..
Nagaoka, Ojyia City, or just with one of the breeders up in the
mountains ... the Japanese welcome and hospitality was tremendous
...and one that I will never forget ..
Soon the bar was closing and it was time to make our
way back to Kamishima's house .. then came another surprise
Kamishima handed his car keys to another Japanese man who then
followed us out to where Kamishima had parked his car and he opened
the door and climbed into the drivers seat whilst Kamishima and
myself climbed into the back seats and he drove us back to
Kamishima's .. it was explained to me that this was one of the ways
that the Japanese used instead of the normal taxi .. and another car
followed ours and when we reached Kamishima's house he was paid, how
much I do not know, and went and got into the other car and they
drove off ...
We crept as quietly as we could into the house,
leaving our shoes behind on the doorstep of course and we said our
good nights and I went off to the Japanese bed that had been
prepared for me ... and to be honest I never even felt my head touch
the rice pillow..... probably the beer had a lot to do with
that no doubt ....
It was very early in the morning 0415 when Kamishima
woke me up .. so just 3 hours sleep and now I had to face the long
journey from Kamishima's house to Toyama's own airport to catch an
internal flight to Tokyo airport and from there I must then take the
special bus connection which would take me right across the City of
Tokyo to Narita Airport to catch my connecting flight back to
Charles De Gaulle airport in France and then onto Heathrow .....
Mrs. Kamishima had got up to say goodbye to me and we said our
farewells as we got into Kamishima's car and headed off to Toyama
airport .. which as expected was a very small be extremely clean
airport and I checked in for my flight ... right on time the flight
departure was announced and Kamishima escorted me to the gate and to
passport control and we said our final goodbyes ... as I stepped
through and onto the plane ... where I was made to feel
very welcome by the Japanese stewardess's and shown to my seat.
Then when the plane was ready for takeoff and
something I have not seen on any other aircraft the captain switched
on a camera which must have been in the nose of the plane and we
could watch the actual takeoff on the television screens overhead
... it was a super experience and one that has stuck in my mind ..
funny how things do seem to stick there longer than others .. The
flight was about 1 hour to Tokyo and we passed very close to Mount
Fuji which was a wonderful sight and one that I had up to that time
only seen in photographs or on paintings ....
At Tokyo airport and finding the connection bus to
Narita airport was far more difficult that I first thought that it
would be with the hustle and bustle of the Japanese and other
passengers who seemed to be flying in every direction ....
eventually I found the bus and settled down for the long 2 hour
journey to Narita ...
Arriving at Narita airport was no different to what
I had expected, extremely busy and very large .. I checked in at the
airline and was very surprised when the gentleman looking after me
produced my lost wallet containing all my English money and the
credit cards that I had had to cancel earlier in the week ..
apparently It had dropped out of my pocket and was left on the seat
as I left the plane on my way in ... so no all was lost ....
The flight to France was on time and soon we were
boarding the flight and eventually heading off on the 12 or 13 hour
journey to Charles de Gaulle airport .... Now if any of you
have ever tried to get some sleep on a long flight then you will
understand me when I say that it is almost an impossibility ...
and the journey seemed longer back than it was going out ...
and all of you Koi collectors out there think that actually going
out to Japan is wonderful ... and I do not know quite how
Peter has managed to go out there as often as he does as I know that
he simply hates the journey both out and back ... but he tells me
that he has done that journey now 130 times .... well I don't envy
him .. although the experience that I gained from this my very first
buying trip was one of the most wonderful of my life and I would
encourage any one if they are really into Koi in a big way to make
the trip at least once during their lifetime ..as it is an
experience that neither myself or anyone else will ever forget ...
I am planning to make the same journey in April 2000
... I will let you know how I get on and in the meantime I hope that
you have enjoyed this rather light hearted look at Japan whilst at
the same time appreciating just some of the secrets of the art of
Breeding and growing such magnificent Koi as we have all come to
admire and to love ...
Your comments or questions on the Trip would be
welcome
www.koicarp.net email:
Trevor@koi-net.co.uk
TO BE CONTINUED
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