Flower festivals that have left us in limbo since the pandemic

It is six years since the pandemic, but believe it or not, there are still several events that haven't come back even though the pandemic is long over. In some cases, they may never come back. Perhaps, the organizers decided to take the opportunity to quietly discontinue an event for one reason or another.

Some have clearly stated that they will never come back. Others have left us in limbo. An example that is fresh in my mind is the Tokorozawa Lily Festival. At this time of year my blog post (on my personal website) about the festival and garden gets a lot of traffic, even though (and I state it on the post) the festival hasn't been on since the pandemic. I don't know if they still grow the lilies, but if they do, the garden is not open to the public and hasn't been since the pandemic.

But I think the reason people hold onto hope, me included, that the lily festival might come back one day, is because on Google Maps the garden is marked as "temporarily" closed. If a place is gone for good it is usually marked as "permanently" closed. However, Google Maps is not as accurate in Japan as in other countries, so that in itself doesn't mean much.

The website for the lily garden / festival redirects to Seibu Railway and has done for the last three years. But that could also be a temporary redirect. The Saitama Prefecture website still had information for the lily garden until last year, implying that it wasn't gone for good. And there are dozens of websites with information for it online as if it wasn't closed. Some even giving information for the expected period of bloom in 2026.

The best thing would be if the company came out with a statement one way or another. They may have some time in the past and it is just not searchable online anymore. I have looked several times for concrete information about it, even contacted the prefectural government, but to no end. So, for now, I just have to wait and see, and hope the festival comes back one day.