Daffodils on the south side of Suwa Tea House in Ninomaru Garden of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, just south of Palaceside Building in Takebashi, Tokyo, have finally begun their delicate white blooms. Daffodils in Kitanomaru Park have buds but flowering still seems some way off.
Daffodils usually start blooming from late December, but this season flowering seems considerably delayed—perhaps because of colder-than-usual weather.
Kasai Rinkai Park in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, where some 200,000 daffodils make it one of the capital's leading daffodil spots, has felt the delay keenly. Its "Daffodil Festival," scheduled from the 6th (Sun.) through February 11 (Mon., holiday) under the catchphrase "~200,000 Japanese daffodils welcome you~," has been revised; daffodils have only just begun to bloom in a few spots, and the festival feels somewhat subdued.
This weekend, the 2nd and 3rd (Sat.–Sun.), ten events were planned—the peak of the festival—including park volunteer "Daffodil Guides," flower arrangement classes, a daffodil concert, popular aquarium mascots Pen-chan and Gan-chan for commemorative photos, a bird quiz rally, and stilt walking—so staff are somewhat downcast.
The park says peak bloom will likely be from mid-February: "This weekend daffodils are still lacking, but wintersweet is at its best—please do visit."
Delayed daffodils seem widespread. At Kenmin Jōgashima Park in Miura, Kanagawa, with some 300,000 plants, a festival ran January 13–20, but most blooms never appeared before closing; about one-third are open now, with peak expected after the February holiday. At Gongendō Park in Satte, Saitama, with 450,000 daffodils, the Satte Daffodil Festival runs through February 11, but only scattered flowers are out. The management office said ruefully, "How much will bloom over the holiday depends on the weather."