For the annual cherry blossom festival, one community presents its float each year, but for the Great Festival at Kamine Shrine, the four communities compete to see whose puppeteers are the most skilled and which can provide the best hospitality to the local deity.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage

For visitors, the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival makes a memorable day trip.

CNN: Forget the North, it's cherry blossom season

In the US, the National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off last week in Washington DC with a fundraising walk and vigil for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

BBC: Cherry blossom festivals amid tragedy