Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Day 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19

Day 9, Sunday, October 20
We're across the street from Chogorou, for one of the local koi shows held in October in the Niigata region. The breeders in the prefecture (similar to a county in the US), get together to set up tanks and bring in some of their best koi for the show.

Under the tent, they fish are measured, registered, photographed, and entered into the show.

This is Miyako placing a kumonryu that I purchased later in the day into the 50 Bu tank.

There were just a few people around earlier in the morning. Then a bus filled with Japanese koi hobbyists pulls up, and suddenly there are people everywhere.

The hobbyists have the opportunity to meet different breeders and discuss the attributes of their koi. Some are there just to enjoy, and some are there to purchase.

The 65 cm tank. Sure wouldn't be embarrassed to have this group in a koi show in the US!

A photo of all the small koi 15 cm and under. It was odd to look at them through their plastic bags

My host, Mr. Masahara Hoshino of Koda Koi Farm, receiving the trophy and award for 65 cm reserve grand champion. The person handing out the awards is a high-ranking local government official (our equivalent of county commissioner).

Chogorou with an award. His smile is being fueled by some lunchtime sake.

A photographer from a Japanese koi magazine took pictures of the breeders, judges, and assorted gai-jin (that's foreigners in Japanese).