For those that are concerned, Shigeru and the Dainichi family are OK, the area they live in was not affected by the tsunami. Niigata did get hit by a 6.6 earthquake on March 11th but there were no damages. You can see the consequence of it here:
Welcome to Moto Kara Koi Kai, we are a Houston koi club totally dedicated to
learning more about koi keeping, water quality, ponds, food, the 13 varieties and
the Japanese way of appreciating the "Living Jewels." With gasoline and so many
places to go costing more every day, it makes "cents" to realize you can have the
break you need in your own backyard. Putting in a bit of nature is just what the
doctor ordered. The beauty of koi keeping is that you can start small and work you
way up to giant size as you feel comfortable. Think of the koi pond as a painting -
at any given movement depending on the available light, arrangement of the koi
and the water quality - you have a liquid canvas that changes daily. The real beauty
of having, learning, and appreciating koi is the sense of calm that comes over you
when you watch your fish swimming. Interestingly, you are the artist that determines
how the canvas is completed with the size, quality, variety and the number of koi in
the space you have available.
We have club members who live in town houses and their ponds are small (900 gallons) and we have members who have acreage, so their ponds are huge (35,000 gallons). We have people in town as well as in the country. We also have club members from all over south Texas. It is a truly strange hobby (one fish can cost $2 or $2 million), but one that brings years of enjoyment, lasting/loving friends as well as a challenge because we all want bigger ponds to collect ALL the beautiful living jewels we see.
We welcome questions and new members. Think about your home and family and how experiencing the liquid canvas you paint in the pond will add years of enjoyment to your environment. Our dues include the Zen Nippon Airinkai's (ZNA) Nichirin international monthly magazine so you can see how other koi-kichi (koi-crazy) people all over the world appreciate their fish/ponds. I look forward to visiting with you at one of our meetings and you joining our family of koi clubs.