Jinhae Cherry Blossom estival

This past weekend we decided to make the hour trip north to the city of Jinhae, on the southern coastline, with our friends Mike and Alissa. The town is best known for the estimated 340,000 cherry blossom trees that bloom for only a few short weeks each spring. At the beginning of those weeks the city holds the annual Jinhae Gunhangjae Festival, this year marking the 49th year. in 1952 a statue of Korea's greatest naval hero was erected in the city's center, and since 1963, the festival has been held annually in honor of him. Each year these trees that are thought to be native to Korea attract over 1 million visitors. I apologize ahead of time for the overwhelming amount of photos that are sure to make you jealous.

Our first stop was to romance bridge. It spreads 1.5 km long with cherry blossom trees arching over the stream on both sides.

Our good friends Mike and Alissa who we went with

Jeremy loves making friends with the locals. The owner of a small snack cart that makes red bean pastries

Loads of photographers waiting for a train to arrive. They were about 2 hours early but that didn't stop them from sitting and waiting. Once they saw our group some turned and started taking photos of us instead.

Jeremy makes a new friend, another photographer waiting for the train with a birds eye view

Stairs to the observation tower. You can either climb the 365 stairs or pay to take a tram to the top. We chose the more strenuous version

The view was worth the climb. From the top you can see the entire city of Jinhae and all the cherry blossom trees that coat the mountains.

We were just excited to be done with all the stairs

There is also a market where you can find anything you would ever want. Even a fin to eat.