Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival


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April 28th 2011
Published: April 28th 2011
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After being thoroughly wowed by the cherry blossom festival in 2010, I decided to go back again this year. The plan was simple; take a bus to Busan and spend the following day in Jinhae. Buses between Busan and Jinhae run every 20-30 minutes so we figured this would be a solid plan. Although this is the most popular cherry blossom festival in Korea (with around 300,000 cherry blossoms and over one million visitors each year) we had no problems with transportation last year. This year was an entirely different story. We arrived in Busan Friday night and quickly settled into a love motel. After a leisurely breakfast we headed to the bus station, only to be shocked by the weaving line of thousands of people bound for Jinhae. We stood in line for a while, realizing that it would take at least 4 hours for us to even board a bus, and by that point it would be past 4 p.m. That is when I had the bright idea to "bribe" a taxi driver to take all six of us in one taxi for a flat rate. One hour and 50,000won ($50) later we were happily in Jinhae.

I will never tire of the beautiful views of springtime in Jinhae. It makes me want to use every cliché in the book to describe its beauty, but I won't. Instead I'll just say this: If you find yourself in South Korea in springtime, take a trip outside of the madness that is Seoul and experience the cherry blossoms for yourself. As you stroll along the river, it literally feels as though you are walking through a tunnel of cherry blossoms. If you can ignore the herds of tourists posing for photos at every step, it's also quite romantic here. Most importantly, if you encounter a yellow food vendor truck, you must try the ice cream waffle; it's delightful.

Heading back to Busan was equally as hectic and getting there, so we again opted for the "bribe a taxi driver" approach and arrived back in Busan right around dinner time.

The following morning we had a few hours to show highlights of Busan to our 2 friends that had never been there before. Being short on time, we decided Haeundae Beach was the best option. Busan in the off season is amazing, although I hear during summer it's impossible to see the sand because there are hundreds of thousands of people perched under their umbrellas on a daily basis. But in the spring it's rather calm, which is how I prefer it. We walked along the beach, watching families flying kites and men in business suits (and nice shoes) meandering through the sand. We then went up a wooden walkway along a cliff, and continued walking, following the curve the bay. Before we knew it, it was time to head home.

Jinhae and Busan have to be two of my favorite places in Korea. The tremendous amount of cherry blossoms almost succeed at making you forget that you're surrounded by a million tourists, and the sandy beaches of Busan remind me of the coastline of Los Angeles.



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