Season of Cherry Blossoms

I am very fascinated with Cherry Blossoms!

I lived in a tropical country, so Cherry Blossom trees are not part of our landscape but it's been one of my greatest dreams to visit a country where I could see the spectacular foliage of Cherry Blossoms so a dream trip to Japan or South Korea is part of my bucket list.

New York City and Washington, D.C in the United States have Cherry Blossoms that perfectly spread romantic white blooms at Springtime but of course an American travel sounds like taking a trip to the moon at the moment so why not just throw my focus to see Cherry Blossoms in Asia?

Cherry Blossoms Park in New York city

There are three Asian countries where abundant trees of Cherry Blossoms can be found: Japan, South Korea and China. Japan is home to wide varieties of Cherry Blossoms where every landscape of the country is shrouded with these beautiful spring flowers. According to online sources, Japanese traditionally called a Cherry Blossom tree as Sakura and there's a century-old practice in Japan called "Hanami" which is organizing a dry picnic under the mighty Sakura tree. The most popular variety of Cherry Blossoms in Japan is the Somei Yoshino which has a soft icy pink blooms. Cherry Blossoms and its leaves are edible and often used as food ingredients in Japan.

Cherry Blossoms at Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan

However, South Korea is my top favorite to visit because the country has so much to offer to tourists and the cost of living is a lot cheaper than Japan. South Korea has been known with organic skincare products and I want to see how things are made there. I had a chance to study and made research about the South Korean market when I created a business plan for export back in my MBA days, so I am a bit familiar where to go, what to do. The country is just so fascinating and I want to witness every bit of it in Seoul or in Jeju Island of even in Busan.

Cherry Blossoms can also be found everywhere in South Korea and the gorgeous JEJU-DO ISLAND has some of the most elegant varieties. This flower was introduced in South Korea during the Japanese occupation and the festival continued even after the surrender of Japan in World War II. 

China has its own version of Cherry Blossoms, in fact, there are two Cherry Blossoms park in the suburban areas: one in Dalian, Liaoning and the other in Donghu district. During spring season, the blooms of these trees provide the Chinese suburban areas with a unique glamour and beauty, a great attraction to tourists.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C, USA

Other countries with Cherry Blossoms are the United States, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, Brazil and Australia. In Great Britain, abundant Cherry Blossoms can be found in Gloucestershire in Batsford Arboretum, a botanical garden with more than 2,000 trees, it has a large collection of Japanese maples, magnolias and pine.

In South Korea, Cherry Blossoms appear only in few weeks during Spring time particularly during the month of April. Two places in South Korea where tourists can see the wonders of this flower are at the Hangang riverside park and Jeju-do island. Towards the last week of March, the blossoming began at Jeju-do island and work its way up until the second or third week of April. There are festivals related to Cherry Blossoms in Korea: Jinhae Gungangje Festival at the end of March and Hangang Yeouido Spring Flower Festival on the first week of April.

Cherry Blossoms in Jeju-do Island, South Korea

Let's concentrate in South Korea which is really a possible destination for Filipinos during Spring season to get cozy under the Cherry Blossom trees. The cost of travel is not as expensive as going to Japan or anywhere in the world.

According to Korea Meteorological Association, the following dates are the blooming period of Cherry Blossoms in respected South Korean places:

March 24 - Seogwipo

March 29 - Jinhae Yeojwacheon Stream

March 30 - Busan

March 31 - Daegu

April 1 - Tongyeong and Hadong Ssanggyesa Temple

April 2 - Cheongju

April 3 - Gwangju

April 4- Daejeon and Yeosu

April 7 - Jeonju

April 8 - Gangneung

April 10 - Seoul

April 13 - Incehon

Gyeongju Park in South Korea at Springtime

I dreamed to take a quick tour to South Korea at Springtime to see Cherry Blossoms and take million of pictures, April is always a wonderful time to do this, maybe next April on my birthday everything will come true finally!Well, in God's time.

Source: Korea Tourism Organization

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