I have been to Japan about 25 times. But this was my first trip to visit Niigata breeders. I contacted a few people who are well known in the Niigata area. After explaining my purpose, just visiting breeders and seeing what kind of Koi Niigata has to offer, they all recommended to me Steve Gibbins. I did not know him personally, but everybody was very positive about this person. Before my trip to Niigata I had contact with Steve by e-mail. We agreed to meet each other at the All Japan Combined Nishikigoi Show, held in Niigata city. When I arrived at the Koi Show area on Friday evening I met Steve. My first impression was very positive. A real koi lover! After introducing ourselves he started asking what I wanted to do after the koi show. When I explained my purpose to Steve he could tell me that this would be no problem. During The weekend I enjoyed the quality of the koi at the Koi show and had many nice talks with koi lovers from whole over the world. After the Koi show had finished we took the Shinkansen to Nagaoka, where we checked in to the Hotel. The next 3 days we visited many breeders, saw many different quality, from budget Koi up to All Japan level koi. Steve is a very nice guy to accompany you during this trip. He has a good knowledge of the area and a good relationship with the breeders. Also Steve helped me a lot to get more information from the breeders, about prices, bloodlines, quality. You can really see Steve is welcome at all the breeders and everybody is happy when he arrives. I feel Steve is a very honest guy. Thank you Steve for this great trip.

Date of Posting: 31 May 2010
Posted By: Joachim Clement
Koi Dealer, Belgium
www.kokugyo-koi.be

It is now 5:19 PM on Saturday evening, April 10, 2010. I was planning on taking half a day off before I leave tomorrow morning, but that didn't happen. I have actually changed my train pass from 8:47 AM tomorrow morning to 10:30 AM so I'll have time to send photos to those that have requested koi that I've been able to find. Steve just dropped me off and is headed back to his hotel to download the photos he took today. He'll be sending them to me tonight and I'll start working on them early in the morning. On my previous trips I've used two different guides. Steve is by far the best I've had. The way he does things is much better for me than the others. They had their own agenda and I had to go with them to the breeders they needed to go to because they were not only agents, but dealers as well. They had specific request from clients and had to find the koi the clients wanted, plus they bought koi for resale themselves. Don't think for a moment that the other quides I have used didn't show me a great time and help me find some awesome koi. All you have to do is look at some of the koi I've supplied and all the prizes they have won at shows, but there were some breeders that I really wanted to visit that I wasn't able to due to the time factor. With Steve (Gibbo) Gibbins I was able to go any where I wanted to. He also has developed some great relationships with many of the breeders which helped me a lot. I could tell by the prices quoted by the breeders compared to what I had gotten before. After spending only a short time with Steve I understood why he had been able to win over so many of the breeders. You couldn't find anyone that was nicer or more honest. The breeders just love him. Plus, he is extremely knowledgable about everything Nishikigoi. I consider myself pretty good, but he saved me from making a few mistakes while picking koi. And, he did it in a subtle way. I have rubbed shoulders with him a couple times in the past. The first time was at the Orlando show in March 2005 and again at Koi America in 2005, but I had never really spent any time with him. I now have spent 6 full days koi hunting with Steve and it has been the best trip ever. Anyone that wants to visit Japan couldn't find a better guide. I've added Steve to my list of best friends and look forward to using him again this October. That is, if he has time for me. I'm sure he will not have any problem finding clients.

Date of Posting: 10 April 2010
Posted By: Gene Winstead
Koi Dealer, Tennessee USA
www.koivillage.com

I was fortunate to finally make my journey to Niigata in Feb 2010. Luckily we were able to procure the professional guide services of Steve Gibbins for our 3 days of visiting breeders. Steve instantly made us feel welcome and the conversation flowed. We felt like we had the inside track, visiting many breeders and maximizing our time. Steve was very accommodating. We started and finished when we wanted too, and stayed at different breeders as long as we wanted. Steve was quick to share his knowledge of the area and its many breeders. Without a guide like Steve, our experience would not have been anywhere close to what it was. Thank You Steve !

Date of Posting: 22 February 2010
Posted By: Randall Clarke
Koi Dealer, Canada
www.clarkekoi.com

I have been in the business of installing and servicing koi ponds for over 10 years. It has always been a dream to go to the All Japan Koi Show and to Niigata to visit the koi breeders. This year I decided along with a friend, that we would make the journey to Japan to fulfil this dream. We were looking for someone to bring us around to the breeders who was not only knowledgeable about the locations of the koi breeders and show, but was also knowledgeable about koi. We found Steve from Koi Tours, who offered just what we were looking for. We spent 3 days travelling through out Niigata visiting some very known breeders. I was extremely satisfied with the tour Steve had planned out! Steve custom tailored our tour so we were able to not only visit the breeders, but also have many photographic opportunities of the surrounding views and scenery. He offered not only a tour of the koi breeders themselves, but showed us around the surrounding sites and events. We visited a dry goods store that offered many koi related items and visited the koi museum. Steve was able to arrange us to look on as one breeder was preparing his fish for the show! Steve is a very knowledgeable and accommodating. I would recommend Steve to anyone who is looking to visit Niigata and/or learn about koi fish and the breeders in Japan.

Date of Posting: 18 February 2010
Posted By: Darren Lucas
New Jersey, USA
www.ntponds.com

Well what can you say about Steve? We have known Steve for quite a few years now, and have travelled with him in the Niigata area on several occasions. Steve is very keen and knowledgeable about Koi and as such has spent many years researching and visiting Koi breeders in Japan especially those in the Niigata prefecture. Steve has invested much time over many years into perfecting his knowledge of the huge numbers of Koi breeders in the Niigata locale, and has developed very good relationships with the breeders both those that are well known and those not so well known. He has “spread his net” further than some Koi dealers who visit the area who usually just have a restricted number of breeders that they visit. Due to the fact that Steve is not affiliated in any way with any of the breeders it is easy for him to give an unbiased view of who has the best to offer and what is good value for money at any particular time. So it is easy to just tell Steve what koi variety / size/ quality you are looking for and roughly what your budget is and he will take you to the best breeder(s) to meet your requirements. On the other hand if you want to see all the top breeders, see some great Koi and have a good trip around the mountains, this is also easy to arrange and there is no pressure to buy. On a more personal note Steve is a good host and also a very good driver as we found out whilst visiting in February once when there was a lot of snow about. Steve is also one of the best Koi photographers around, so expert advice is always on hand if you want to brush up your Koi photography skills. Steve has spent a lot of time in the Niigata area and also has a good repertoire of sight seeing spots, restaurants and bars if you want to experience the local culture. A trip with Steve is always highly customised for you, and most importantly, an enjoyable one!

Date of Posting: 30 November 2009
Posted By: Mark & Ritta Cooper
UK