| Day 6 – 18 October 2007
Last night I slept fully dressed with my sandals on just in case there was an aftershock following the earthquake from yesterday. I did not want to face humiliation again by ending up outside without any footwear. It was like packing your umbrella and then it never rains as the aftershock never came.
Koibooi have become somewhat of a celebrity in Japan under the koi breeders as my photo, together with three prize winning koi from the Western Cape show, is published in the latest Japanese edition of Rinko magazine. In Japan there are very few people that have ever won a Supreme Grand Champion trophy and to take the Supreme Grand Champion trophy as well as the Reserve Champion trophy is unheard of. Everywhere I go our guide introduces me as “Johan San” and then show the breeders the magazine.
Deciding to skip breakfast in favor of an extra bit of shut eye seemed to be a good idea as today turned out to be a koi admirers tour rather than a koi buying tour. Our koi guide, export agent, interpreter and web designer collected us this morning at 08h30 and took us to all the top names in the koi breeding business. Torazo, Dainichi, Shinodah, Hiroi and a few others. The quality of the fish was amazing but the 3 to 4 year old koi were out of my budget range so my focus was on the smaller fish that I could grow on.
Stopping by a koi supply shop on the way back to hotel made me realize how small the Japanese people really are. At the shop entrance there was a place to leave your shoes. There is also a box full of slippers that you have to wear in the shop – taking your shoes off have become second nature by now so I duly complied but, like usual, could not find any slipper to fit my South African size 12 feet. I decided to walk barefoot but as I walked into the store, I was accosted by three shop assistants, shouting all kind of unknowns in Japanese and constantly pointing at my feet and at the box full of slippers. I walked back to the box and took out a hand full of slippers, patiently trying all of them on while under the gaze of the three shop assistants. Naturally none would fit so thinking that I proved my point, I started walking back into the shop again. Not to be out-done, the one shop assistant selected two slippers and placed them in front of me. Deciding that I was not going to win this argument, I put the slippers on and they only reached half way to my heel. Satisfied, the three assistants turned around and I was allowed to wonder the shop and look around.
We returned to the hotel a bit earlier today as there I had to catch up with some washing and pack and prepare for hitting the rail again tomorrow to our next koi destination. Talking about clean, Koibooi quickly had to learn that you are expected to wash your hands before you eat, it does not matter if you buy a takeaway at the local convenience store or sit down for a meal at the hotel breakfast table. A warm napkin sealed in a plastic bag magically tends to find its way into your placemat. This is then used to wipe the hands and face and then the meal can start.
Supper was at a very interesting restaurant where you pay a fixed Yen 2000 (R117) per person. For this you get to eat as much sushi as you want. Each table is also fitted with a little gas BBQ on which you can fry prawns, beef strips, baby octopus on a skewer and a host of other foodstuff. Ice-cream and coffee and pudding as much as you want and really excellent imported fruit. The trick is that you have to be in and out inside 90 minutes otherwise you pay another Y2K.
Tomorrow we ride the Shinkansen again to Tokyo and then south to some more koi farms. It is time for Koibooi to hit the sack and hope that all my clothes are dry by the time I have to pack in the morning. |