A trip to Japan doesn’t seem complete without a specific koi-related activity. When we were planning our cancelled trip in 2020, we were doing a full koi day in the Hiroshima area. Fast forward to 2023 and our trip was slightly shorter and I made no plans to see koi except in castle moats and gardens. So on Day 2 in Japan we were rolling back from Fukuoka early and thought we would check out the address listed on the Konishi website. I wasn’t sure what we would see because it’s in the middle of the city and don’t you need some mud ponds??? What a pleasant surprise – if you are ever near the Hiroshima train station, make your way over to Konishi Koi!

The address brings you to a storefront with in ground tanks of koi sorted by size. Customers can relax by the tanks and take their time making selections for their personal pond. Most of the koi were smaller and I wondered where the larger koi might be held.

As you wander past the tanks, you will come to a large pond that separates the store front from the residence. Such a lovely feature.

Pond builder came back and said “there are greenhouses across the street.” So we asked if we could stroll through them and the answer was “of course.” The two large greenhouses contained more in ground tanks and a mix of koi for sale and customer koi. Mr. Konishi is third generation specializing in karashigoi, ochiba, shusui and kujaku varieties. The business was founded in 1919!

Here’s a tank of karashigoi – we may need one in our new pond. Mr. Konishi noted that even the males have large bodies like the females.

Mr. Konishi led us over to a tank of some super high quality koi. At least three of them were significant winners in this year’s All Japan Koi Show. While the Konishi mud ponds are about thirty minutes away in the mountains, these koi are maintained in the greenhouse since the chance of becoming lunch for a predator or damage in the mud pond is one he doesn’t want to take. Significant rains in the Hiroshima area can create serious problems in the mudponds, like overflowing. I once had an azukari koi with a different breeder disappear after the torrential early summer storms in 2018.

Mr. Konishi also has a variety of pond supplies and fun koi related items for purchase. It was so nice to visit and well worth the time when in Hiroshima!