Thoughts on the event "Violet Evergarden x Garden Museum Hiei: A tale of flowers and letters"

Update June 10, 2022: Important update! Garden Museum Hiei just announced that the merchandise being sold as part of this collaboration event will be available for sale online (production by order) with details to be announced at a later date. I guess they have finally heard all the feedback and realised that not all fans live near the garden and can afford to go back every week. Even fans who live nearby have trouble doing so, since the garden is not in the most accessible of places (being on a mountain...) This means you can probably skip the rest of the post below since it will no longer be relevant. 😍

 

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Garden Museum Hiei started holding this collaboration event with the Violet Evergarden franchise called "Violet Evergarden x Garden Museum Hiei: A tale of flowers and letters" on May 3, 2022. You can find more information here. In this post, though, I want to write about what I feel about how this event is being managed.

(Warning: This can read like a complaint, so for those who don't want to read anything negative, please turn back now.)

 

The event was announced on April 28, 2022, five days before its start on May 3. With the event being in Kyoto, up on Mount Hiei, which isn't the most convenient of places and not really on the main "Kyoto tourist route", I can only say that this was really short notice. Yes, the event will start during Japan's Golden Week holidays, but most people plan their holidays way in advance. For many, this could be the first time in two years or more that they get to travel overseas, so many fans could have already planned for an overseas trip. For fans, this last minute announcement may end up causing grief instead of drawing crowds.

It doesn't help that the organizers assured everyone that they prepared what they think is adequate stock for the various event-related merchandise, only to come out a couple of days into the event with a "out of stock" message. This is like a double blow to fans who already planned something else in advance during Golden Week and were hoping to squeeze in a visit to Garden Museum Hiei a bit later. 

 

For example:

April 28: "Oh, I really want to go, but I have planned a family trip to XYZ already... but there should still be the merch that I want if I go on the last day of Golden Week on May 8, right?" 

May 4: "What!?!?! Out of stock!!?!? But I already booked my ticket to Kyoto for May 8!"

To add injury to insult, it seems the stampbook was available for sale on May 2, a day before the actual event. So it is no surprise that by the end of May 3, it was already out of stock.

Of course, the organizers quickly came back to reassure everyone that they are restocking the merchandise, and for those who visited during the out-of-stock period, they are willing to post a copy of the entry gifts if you leave your address. But the stampbook (and other merchandise, for that matter) is not available for sale online or via post. So if you visited during the out-of-stock period, bad luck, come back again and pray that on your next visit, it is in stock.

And yesterday, they again announced a new set of merchandise for sale: A3 cloth posters. And guess what... it goes on sale today. So if you want to get a set, well, you had better booked your ticket yesterday the moment they announced it, and be in Kyoto now already and bought the posters, or they will likely be out of stock by the time you get there.

Example:

May 13: "Wow! New merchandise! Great! What!?!?!? Tomorrow?!?!? I work shifts, how can I even apply for leave tomorrow?"

Really, the way this event is organized, it is managed so horribly that I cannot help but feel anguish. If you have time and money to travel at short notice to a mountain in Kyoto from all over Japan, good. Otherwise, too bad for you. Every time they announce new merchandise at such short notice or post a "out of stock" message is like rubbing our face in the sand and pouring salt on our open wounds.

A properly managed event with the entire schedule of rollout announced well in advance, so that fans can plan their own schedules around what they want to see and get, would have made this a successful event that satisfies fans and improves the image of the organizers. Right now, the way it is being managed only makes me feel that this is just a last-minute plan by Garden Museum Hiei to draw people (and thus earn money) using the Violet Evergarden franchise. I feel so sad that the franchise is being exploited in such a way. 😢

Afternote:

Yes, there are other promotions with short notice. For example, the cinema door gift is usually announced about a week (or even less) before they are handed out. There is also the Aeon-Lotte collaboration (buy three Lotte products at Aeon stores to get a free gift), which is not even really announced anywhere. People usually become aware of this when they visit an Aeon store and notice that small poster for the promotion. But the biggest difference is: cinemas and Aeon stores can be found nationwide, and most people don't need to travel hours to get to one. To most people, going to the cinema or the Aeon store is not a day trip, or a weekend tour.

Update May 28, 2022: Sigh... more gripe. It seems the garden is limiting the purchase of clear files and pens to ONE per person. There are six different clear files, and six different pens. Since a person can only buy one file and one pen at any time, and they actually make you show your ticket when buying, it also means that anyone who wants to collect a set of all six designs will need to visit the garden SIX times. While this may be a measure against scalpers, it ends up hurting fans too, and can also be seen as a sly and cunning move by the garden to make people visit the place... everything which makes this bad publicity instead of improving the garden's image. Sigh.

Update June 7, 2022: It seems the garden is rolling out new merch almost every week. Which is great... except that you need to travel there. And I don't know but maybe it is just me that finds it difficult to travel there EVERY week to get new merch. I am really thankful that the garden is going to this trouble to collaborate with my favourite series, but I don't know who at the garden thinks there are fans who can travel to the garden every week from all over Japan. In the end, this only serves fans who live in Kyoto and nearby areas. Plus allow scalpers who live in that same area to resell everything for a profit. Great idea, beautiful merch, but I would really have liked if the organizers could have thought a bit more about the travel for fans...