At the end of October we’re setting off to visit koi breeders in Japan to discuss the new JBL concept for koi food with them. Afterwards we will use the opportunity to plan the JBL Expedition 2019 on-site. We not only want to offer our potential participants visits to the leading koi breeders but we also want to show them Japan’s most beautiful habitats and carry out biotope studies there. Among the many national parks in Japan the region near Nikko caught our particular attention. But there is no information as to which kind of invertebrates and fish can be found there. Since Nikko is situated north of Tokyo, the water will be f... cold there. A thick diving suit is a must-have for your case because we also plan to go diving in koi basins with cold water. In Nikko we will visit some beautiful Japanese temples and shrines because you can’t go travelling in Japan without having any insights into the culture.
From the north of Japan we’ll be taking a 2500 km flight to the small, isolated Ryukyu Islands which are situated further south of Okinawa on the same latitude as Taiwan. This tropical paradise has got everything that nature lovers could dream of: coral reefs in the world’s fourth-clearest (sea) water and an untouched jungle on the island Iriomote which we can enter with small canoes. Although there are Japanese biologists working there, the freshwater fauna is still largely unexplored. We are currently looking for an option that will enable us to spend the night in the rainforest. The Japanese seem a bit worried about the fact that they won’t be able to offer us a whirlpool and 4-course menus. Perhaps we’ll be able to explain them on-site what we mean by expedition. And generally we are struggling a bit to explain the people there, what we really want. We haven’t quite managed it with our emails yet. But then we are a strange bunch taking more pleasure in a small fish or a mini shrimp than about a complete sushi menu. We will report in November how well our communication went with the Japanese and we will inform you what we will have to look forward to in 2019.
