Our year begins in January / February each year when we make our first trip to visit the Niigata breeders, scheduled to coincide with the AJNPA Combined All Japan Show.

This is an ideal time to select from stocks that have not been sold during the Autumn harvest period, which may well be available at a reduced rate

We return to Japan in March / April each year, when we time our visit to allow us to visit the AJNPA All Japan Young Koi Show, and for viewing and selecting tosai once the breeders have made their final selection.

Not only is this the best time to select tosai, when the highest quality stocks are available, but there are often some great value larger koi available which the breeders will not have room for in their mudponds

Our third visit of the year in June / July is timed to coincide with the breeding activities offering a great chance to witness and learn about the breeding and culling techniques.

Usually at this time of year all the koi will be in the mudponds and very few will be available for sale, although some breeders do keep koi available for sale all year round.

Our final scheduled trip each year takes place in October / Novemeber and this is our longest visit where we spend a month or more attending the harvests, shows and other activities plus visiting the breeders regularly to view their freshly harvested stocks.

This is obviously the most popular time of the year for visitors and the time when the largest selection of all Nishikigoi are available for sale