Busan or Nagasaki?

Busan has what Nagasaki lacks: beaches inside the city. Haeundae's wide sand, Gwangalli under its lit-up bridge and the quieter surf beach at Songjeong are all a metro or bus ride from your hotel, so a swim fits around an afternoon of sightseeing.

Nagasaki's harbour is a working port. The nearest good sand is at Takahama on the Nomo coast, about an hour away by bus, and Iojima is reached by ferry. Its sea is slightly warmer in August and the swimming season is the same short one, but only in Busan is a swim part of an ordinary day.

Busan's food is broader, and more of it comes from the sea. Jagalchi's live-fish halls, the raw fish of Millak and Gijang, all-night pork-bone soup and fishcake on skewers give it a deeper street and market scene. Bupyeong's night market and the tent bars by the shore keep the eating going late.

Nagasaki's strength is a cuisine you won't find anywhere else, shaped by Chinese and Portuguese contact: champon, sara udon, castella and the shared shippoku banquet. Eating well around Shianbashi and Chinatown is easy, but the range is narrower. Neither city is the place for fine dining or much international cooking.

Here Nagasaki pulls clearly ahead. Its sights tell one connected story. It runs from the Dutch trading post on Dejima, the merchant houses of Glover Garden, Oura Cathedral and the Ming-style Sofukuji to the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Peace Park, and few places in Japan show the meeting of East and West in such depth.

Busan's best sights are spread out, and most are either religious or tied to the Korean War: Beomeosa in the hills, Haedong Yonggungsa on its rocks above the sea, the painted lanes of Gamcheon and the UN Memorial Cemetery. They fill two or three good days, but unlike Nagasaki's they are not a reason to choose the city.

Busan has the better nights out. Dinner turns into soju, beer and karaoke, Seomyeon stays busy into the early hours, and Gwangalli's bars look across the water at the lit-up bridge, so a late night happens without any planning.

In Nagasaki, going out means Shianbashi, a grid of izakaya and small counter bars, many of them built around regulars. It suits a quiet drink over grilled fish, but the streets empty before midnight on weeknights, and the night view from Mount Inasa is often the main event of the evening.

Busan has more of the outdoors within the city itself. Hikes on Geumjeongsan and Jangsan start from metro stations, the Igidae cliff path and the Taejongdae headland follow the sea, and the Galmaetgil trail links much of the shoreline. In summer there is surfing at Songjeong.

Nagasaki's setting is dramatic: a deep harbour ringed by steep green hills, with the ropeway up Mount Inasa. Its bigger landscapes are further out, though. Unzen's volcanic peaks and steaming vents are about two hours away, so they take a full day rather than an afternoon.

Busan's best card is Gyeongju, the ancient Silla capital, about half an hour away by fast train, with royal tombs, Bulguksa and Seokguram. Add Tongdosa, the harbour town of Tongyeong, Haeinsa with its printing blocks and even a ferry to Tsushima, and there is enough for several days out.

Nagasaki's outings are fewer but more unusual. The boat to the ruined island of Hashima has no match anywhere near Busan. Shimabara's samurai street, the spa town of Unzen and the porcelain towns of Arita and Imari also reward a long day, though many of them are two hours or more away.

Both cities are safe and clean, but Busan gives children more to do. The beaches are the summer draw, and Haeundae's seafront aquarium, the sky-capsule rail along the coast and Gijang's theme park and luge track fill the other days. The catch is the travelling, because distances are long and the hills are steep.

Nagasaki suits a shorter stay. The trams and the Inasa ropeway keep children happy on their own, and the Penguin Aquarium lets the birds walk out onto a small beach. Stairway streets are hard work with a pushchair, though, and the Atomic Bomb Museum needs some thought with younger children. Huis Ten Bosch is the big day out.

The two are about even here, but you get around them in different ways. Busan runs on a metro with English signs that crosses a long, narrow city. Each district is easy to walk, but getting from Haeundae to Nampo-dong or Taejongdae takes the best part of an hour.

Nagasaki is compact, and a few flat-fare tram lines along the valley floor reach almost every sight within minutes. Its problem is height rather than distance: once you leave the valley floor, the lanes turn into long flights of steps.

Busan is far better for serious shopping. Centum City's huge department stores, the underground fashion arcades of Seomyeon, Korean skincare shops on every main street and the lanes of Gukje Market give real choice, from luxury floors to cheap clothes.

Shopping in Nagasaki is modest and centred on the Hamanomachi arcade. What it does well is gifts that belong to the place: boxed castella, local glassware, and porcelain from Hasami, Mikawachi and nearby Arita. Go for those, not for fashion.

Costs are much the same in both cities: the everyday things are cheap and the extras add up. In Busan, soup restaurants, market meals and the metro cost little, and most temples, markets and coastal walks are free. The bill grows with live seafood sold by weight and with beachfront hotels in July and August.

Nagasaki's savings come from spotless business hotels near the station, a cheap bowl of champon and a day of tram rides. Spending builds up with the Hashima boat, the ropeway and evenings of sake and sashimi.

Neither is a city to plan a trip around for theatre, but Busan has more worth booking. Busan Concert Hall in Citizens' Park hosts orchestras and visiting soloists, and the Cultural Center presents traditional Korean music. The autumn film festival and the summer rock and K-pop events add some high points to the year.

Nagasaki's performances are festivals rather than a season. The Kunchi at Suwa Shrine every October brings dragon dances and ship floats, and the Lantern Festival comes around Chinese New Year. Time a visit for one of those and it will be memorable, but outside those dates there is little to see.

Busan is clearly better for bathing, because its hot springs are in the city. Dongnae has been a spa district since the Silla era and Haeundae has its own springs. The jjimjilbang of Centum City let you scrub, soak and even sleep over without leaving town.

In Nagasaki the real onsen are out on the Shimabara peninsula, at Obama on the shore and Unzen in the mountains, and both are best with a night at a ryokan. The city itself has a few sento and a gentle harbour pace, but for a wellness trip you need that extra journey.