| Day 4 – 16 October 2007
After a very interesting breakfast this morning of fermented Soya beans and rice with mizo soup and tofu we were collected by Takeda San for the visit to Yamatake koi farm. En route we stopped at a bank to change some traveler cheques for Yen as the bit of cash I brought from SA was running out. I witnessed the Japanese financial engine in working and it was a slow and painful experience. After the initial gestures and handing over the travelers cheques and my passport the waiting started. I am pretty sure that they had a Yen printing press at the back of the bank as it took forever to produce the cash. I could in no way understand what they were saying to me but it sounded pretty cool and as they were in possession of my passport, I guessed it better not to make too much of a fuss.
The Koi house is typically the place that holds the concrete ponds and the administration facilities. It is here that koi are brought to when they are harvested from the mud ponds and it is here that the koi are typically on display for purchase. I am constantly surprised how humble these breeders are and how incredibly low tech but extremely effective their operation is. The water in the 80 ton concrete ponds is crystal clear and the filtration is extremely low tech with only a few up and under compartments running through Japanese matting. The ponds are also typically stocked to the maximum with a decent feeding rate.
The quality of the koi is absolutely amazing. I saw a 4 year old Kohaku that will beat the fins off most koi in SA. The price was about R35K and way above my budget so I moved on the pond with the 2 year old fish. The breeder gladly caught any fish I would like to have a closer look at. This was a lot more affordable and one could buy a brilliant 2 year old 65 cm Shusui for +-R2900 directly from the breeder. Add to this another 10% in agents fees and some transport to get the koi back to South Africa and you will end up with a 65cm beautiful show quality koi with excellent growth potential from a well known breeder and a known lineage for under R4500. I am increasingly starting to get the idea that perhaps we are paying way too much for show quality fish in South Africa.
After our koi viewing the breeder made good on his promise from the previous day and we went for lunch at a local Eel restaurant. The live Eels are kept in a tank like we keep Crayfish in SA. The Eel is caught and placed on a table. A two pronged fork is then stuck into its head and using a very sharp knife, the chef splits the Eel from head to tail and cleans the inside. Once clean, the Eel is cut into pieces of approximately 15cm in length and then skewered so that it does not curl up during cooking. The skewered Eel is then fried and some secret sauces added and served on a bed of sticky rice. The end product was an absolutely amazingly tender and tasty dish. On a side dish was a big piece of tofu covered with what I thought was thinly grated white radish. On closer inspection I noticed that every piece of grated radish had eyes. It turned out to be 1.5cm long sardine babies, served raw on top of the tofu. It made for an amazing combination of tastes. Throughout all the eating experiences to date I have had a surprisingly steady stomach. It seems as if I am not going to need those diarrhea tablets I packed in.
We caught the Shinkokan to our next destination – Tokyo. Arriving at the station we were met with thousands and thousands of people streaming in all directions. The amazing thing was the cleanliness of the place and of course the number of food halls. I am very positive that you can live your entire life in Japan without once using an oven or stove. The food is inexpensive and the variety is just absolutely staggering. I looked around this amazingly busy hub and could not find a single piece of garbage lying around anywhere. Not even a cigarette butt. These are incredibly conscientious people and when somebody accidentally drops a piece of paper, then the next person picks it up and places it in the dustbin.
Our stop in Tokyo was merely in transit to our next destination and a short while later we caught the train to Nagaoka and the Nigata koi region. This is the original home of koi and the first ever records of colored carp come from here. Originally the rice farmers flooded their rice paddies in the summer time and released many carp into the rice paddy. These carp would grow and be harvested when the rice is harvested. The carp and rice would then sustain the farmer and his family through the cold harsh winters. Over time some farmers noticed colored “mutations” on the carp and these were retain by the farmers inside their house during winter time and then released in the rice paddy again the next year. So started the history of koi.
Koibooi is going to bed now as I have an exciting day ahead tomorrow |