06/09/2024
Here are some pictures from out trip to Nishikigoi Niigata Direct Ltd.. We took a bullet train from Tokyo to Niigata on a cloudy day. We were the only ones there for a visit and could have stayed longer had we not had to catch a bullet train back.
They have 170 mud ponds and dozens of greenhouses. They pull the koi out in October and put them in the greenhouses to let them bulk up all throughout the winter.
We were there when they were doing the breeding and returning the koi to the mud ponds. We got to visit 4 of their greenhouses and the mud ponds on the visit.
The trip to see the mud ponds was kind of harrowing. Especially from the front seat ride I had. Up the mountain on very small, single lane roads. Some curves were so sharp the driver had to back up in his very small car just to make the curve. Then it was racing along around blind curves and roads that dropped straight off without any guard rails. We cannot even imagine in October when all of the breeders are bringing truckload after truckload of koi down the mountain, how someone doesn’t get killed.
Once up top that day at their champion’s pond, the low clouds surrounded us and we could not see much beyond the ponds.
It was a wonderful trip. We learned so much and I just wanted to dive into the greenhouse tanks and swim with the koi. It would be amazing to have a large pond just filled up with these beautiful koi.