The Great Koi Hunt – Japan 2026 | Follow Our Koi Buying Trip

Welcome to Japan 2026!

Join us for The Great Koi Hunt!

I'm back in Japan for another exciting week of koi hunting! I'll be visiting breeders, exploring their latest harvests and searching for beautiful, high-quality Japanese koi to bring back to Byer Koi Farm.

This year I'm joined once again by Woody from @koi_in_the_uk. We'll be sharing plenty of behind-the-scenes footage from our visits to breeders, while I'll be searching for and selecting koi to bring back to Byer Koi Farm.

From discovering something special to making those difficult buying decisions, I'll be sharing the journey with you throughout the week.

Follow The Great Koi Hunt

I'll be sharing regular updates throughout the trip, including behind-the-scenes footage, breeder visits, koi selections and plenty of beautiful fish!

Keep an eye on the Byer Koi Farm YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook and this blog for the latest updates.

As I acquire koi, I'll add them to this blog below, with preview bowls, videos and links to purchase your favourites directly from the website.

Check back regularly — I'll be updating this page throughout the week as the koi hunt unfolds!

Japan 2026 – Daily Updates

Day 1 – Monday 2nd November

What a start to the trip!

It's been the best first day of a Japan koi buying trip that I've ever had!

I've made lots of acquisitions today at Marushu and Kaneko, with some fantastic koi selected from both breeders.

The day finished at Kaneko, where there were some particularly tough selection decisions to make. There were so many beautiful koi to choose from, and narrowing things down wasn't easy!

I've now catalogued today's selections, and you can see all 15 preview bowls below.

Day 1 – Preview Bowls

Here are all 15 bowls from my first day of buying in Japan. The bowls are shown in reverse numerical order, with the newest selections first.

Each koi has its own unique NOV reference number, which you can use to identify it on the website.

Kaneko

Bowl 15 – Kaneko

Size: 42–44cm
Varieties: Kujaku
References: NOV057, NOV058, NOV059, NOV060

Bowl 14 – Kaneko

Size: 39–45cm
Varieties: Goshiki, Ginrin Goshiki
References: NOV053, NOV054, NOV055, NOV056

Bowl 13 – Kaneko

Size: 35–39cm
Varieties: Ai Goromo
References: NOV049, NOV050, NOV051, NOV052

Bowl 12 – Kaneko

Size: 37–38cm
Varieties: Kujaku, Ginrin Goshiki, Ginrin Black Diamond
References: NOV045, NOV046, NOV047, NOV048

Bowl 11 – Kaneko

Size: 39cm
Varieties: Kujaku, Beni Kikokuryu
References: NOV041, NOV042, NOV043, NOV044

Bowl 10 – Kaneko

Size: 39–42cm
Varieties: Ginrin Black Diamond
References: NOV037, NOV038, NOV039, NOV040

Bowl 9 – Kaneko

Size: 44–46cm
Varieties: Ochiba, Goshiki, Ginrin Platinum Ogon
References: NOV033, NOV034, NOV035, NOV036

Bowl 8 – Kaneko

Size: 42–44cm
Varieties: Kujaku, Beni Kikokuryu
References: NOV029, NOV030, NOV031, NOV032

Bowl 7 – Kaneko

Size: 39–44cm
Varieties: Ochiba
References: NOV025, NOV026, NOV027, NOV028

Marushu

Bowl 6 – Marushu

Size: 29cm
Varieties: Kohaku, Goshiki
References: NOV021, NOV022, NOV023, NOV024

Bowl 5 – Marushu

Size: 30–31cm
Varieties: Goshiki, Showa
References: NOV017, NOV018, NOV019, NOV020

Bowl 4 – Marushu

Size: 31–35cm
Varieties: Goshiki, Tancho Goshiki, Kohaku
References: NOV013, NOV014, NOV015, NOV016

Bowl 3 – Marushu

Size: 32–36cm
Varieties: Goshiki, Tancho Goshiki, Kohaku
References: NOV009, NOV010, NOV011, NOV012

Bowl 2 – Marushu

Size: 35–40cm
Varieties: Ginrin Black Diamond, Sanke
References: NOV005, NOV006, NOV007, NOV008

Bowl 1 – Marushu

Size: 37–39cm
Varieties: Sanke, Ginrin Black Diamond, Kohaku
References: NOV001, NOV002, NOV003, NOV004

First Catch of the Day!

Here's a quick look at the koi hunt getting underway on our first day visiting breeders in Japan.

Day 0 – Sunday 1st November | Arrival in Japan

The Great Koi Hunt begins!

I've arrived in Japan and am getting ready for another exciting week visiting breeders and selecting koi. Here's a quick hello from Japan as the adventure gets underway.