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Ben Weller

As South Korean cuisine has grown in popularity internationally, the chefs of Seoul turn inwards and focus on putting locally sourced ingredients at the core of their menus. Hahna Youn gives us a breakdown of Seoul’s culinary scene, with Ben Weller’s photography accompanying the words. Here we see a truck selling drinks at Dongdaemun Design Plaza Youth Runway Market, a night market that to runs from April to October. Read the article here.

A woman hangs lanterns during Bucheonim osin nal, Buddha's birthday, at Yongunsa Temple, Busan, South Korea. The day is a major holiday in Korea, where the temples come alive with colour and activity. During the day, people congregate at the temple to eat and pray. As night falls, the lanterns are lit, casting a colourful glow across the temple grounds.

People relaxing on the banks of Cheonggyecheon, a seven-mile-long stream and pedestrian walkway running through the centre of the city.

A truck selling drinks at Dongdaemun Design Plaza Youth Runway Market, a night market that runs from April to October.

PLAN IT Japan Airlines and British Airways both fly direct to Kansai International Airport from London Heathrow. Kansai is wonderful year-round. Spring sees the cherry trees blossom, and the landscape bursts with bubble-gum pink. In May, it’s time for the tea harvest, while summer, with its warmer weather, comes with clear skies and matcha ice creams. The landscape explodes with colour in the autumn, before its blanketed is snow in the winter months. For more information go to the-kansai-guide.com/en/feature/item/02

PLAN IT Japan Airlines and British Airways fly direct to Kansai International Airport from Heathrow. From there, trains and buses take travellers on to Kyoto. Seasonality is central to Japanese dishes, so visiting in spring and autumn, when the landscape explodes with colour, and dishes with flavour, is ideal. For more information on how to plan your trip to Kansai, go to the-kansai-guide.com

Watch as French and Japanese cuisine is fused together in an intricate dance of ingredients and flavours at the open kitchen of Dominique Bouchet Kyoto ‘Le Teppanyaki’. The head chef serves elegant French-style hors d’oeuvres alongside dishes of prime beef from Kyoto and Kobe. Vegetables — grilled to perfection — include Horikawa burdock, Tamba Shimeji mushrooms, and Fushimi chillies.

Acclaimed Japanese architect Togo Murano is to thank for Kasui-en (Japanese annex) at The Westin Miyako Kyoto, a sleek, understated hotel in the heart of the city. The exterior of the annex, with its rock-garden landscaping, was inspired by the tea ceremony and leads to 12 exquisite rooms; all earthen tones and intricate paper screens. At the end of the day, guests can sink into private hot tubs fed by volcanic spring water bubbling up from 1,000 metres underground. In the spirit of omotenashi (traditional Japanese hospitality), an on-site concierge or 'landlady' sees to guests’ every comfort, from tea and flowers to arranging meals at the city’s exclusive restaurants. Indulge in an in-room spa treatment from Sothys, a Parisian beauty company known for its organic products.

It will come as little surprise that tea features heavily on local menus in Yamashiro. Before a day of exploring, head to the michi-no-eki to fuel up on chagayu, steaming rice porridge cooked with roasted tea. Roadside stations like this Ocha-no-Kyoto Minamiyamashiro-mura are ubiquitous in Japan and sell a mind-boggling array of local snacks; try the green tea soft-serve ice cream and stock up on green tea sweets.

Japanese tea culture goes back centuries, originating in the rolling hills of Yamashiro, to the south of Kyoto city. The tiny village of Minamiyamashiro is particularly famous for its matcha green tea, and guests at the Fairfield by Marriott Kyoto Minamiyamashiro can stay among the plantations themselves. Rooms look out on rolling fields, are full of modern conveniences, and have a hint of modern Japanese aesthetic. Wake up early with a steaming cup of green tea and watch the mist hovering over the fields like a white blanket, before heading out on a cycling tour.