Fukuoka or Kaohsiung?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Fukuoka is the better one for a summer swim. Momochi is fine for a paddle at the end of the day, and Itoshima's white sand and clear water lie under an hour west. The bathing season, though, runs only through July and August.

Kaohsiung's sea is warm for far longer, yet the city makes little use of it. Cijin's dark sand is for kites and sunsets, and Sizihwan's small swimming area opens only in season, with currents and typhoon swell limiting when you can go in. The real draw is snorkelling with turtles off Xiaoliuqiu, which takes a road-and-ferry journey.

Fukuoka is one of Japan's great food cities and has the deeper range. It is the home of tonkotsu ramen, and you can eat it on a stool at a riverside yatai. It also has mentaiko, mizutaki and motsunabe hotpots, and very fresh Genkai Sea fish, with options from cheap noodle counters up to serious sushi.

Kaohsiung is about cheap, informal southern Taiwanese eating. Try milkfish congee at morning stalls, oyster omelettes in the Ruifeng night market, catch-of-the-day seafood on Cijin and mango shaved ice in summer. It is generous and fun, but the top end is thin.

Each city fills two or three days, and neither is a major heritage stop, but the character differs. Fukuoka's sights are quiet and contemplative. In old Hakata you can see what is said to be Japan's first Zen temple and a great wooden Buddha. There are also castle walls above Ohori Park and the ancient gold seal in the City Museum.

Kaohsiung's sights are more colourful and grow out of its port history. The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas stand on Lotus Pond, and the red-brick former British Consulate overlooks the harbour mouth. Pier-2 turns old warehouses into galleries, and the Dome of Light makes even a metro station worth a visit.

Fukuoka goes out more and stays out later. Nakasu's neon and riverside stalls start the evening. The real choice for visitors is in the backstreets of Tenjin and Daimyo, with whisky and craft beer bars, small standing counters and the student strip of Oyafuko-dori. Its club scene is modest, though.

In Kaohsiung a night out usually means a stir-fry hall: shared plates of seafood and crates of Taiwan Beer around a table. You can follow it with a cocktail near Pier-2 or a drink on a Love River terrace. The few clubs in Sinsing and Lingya come alive only at weekends.

The two cities are evenly matched outdoors, but the landscapes are very different. Fukuoka's nature is gentle and coastal: short ferry rides to the flower slopes of Nokonoshima, cycling on the Uminonakamichi sandbar, and Itoshima's rocky capes and rice terraces. The Sefuri hills offer longer hikes.

Kaohsiung is wilder and stranger. Shoushan's forest, full of macaques, rises straight from the container port. Further out are the grey badlands of Moon World, the mud volcanoes of Yanchao, the butterfly valleys of Maolin and the coral reefs of Xiaoliuqiu.

Fukuoka is the stronger base by some distance, because it is the rail gateway to all of Kyushu and beyond. Dazaifu is half an hour away, and the shinkansen reaches Kumamoto castle and Hiroshima with Miyajima in about an hour. Nagasaki's harbour, Karatsu and the porcelain villages of Arita add more.

Kaohsiung has one excellent outing and a handful of good ones. Tainan, with its Dutch-era forts and its many temples, is a quick high-speed train ride away. Fo Guang Shan's giant Buddha and the umbrella town of Meinong make gentler days out.

Fukuoka is the easier city with children. It is compact and spotless, with nursing rooms in stations and an airport only minutes from the centre. Marine World's dolphin show, the Anpanman Children's Museum and the Nokonoshima ferry fill the days without long transfers.

Kaohsiung is warm towards children and has the hands-on science museum, the Cijin ferry and a big theme park in Dashu, which Fukuoka lacks. The day-to-day effort is greater, though. Scooters block the pavements and busy junctions need watching, so walks with a pushchair take more care.

Fukuoka is unusually effortless. The subway runs from the airport to Hakata Station in minutes, and the flat centre links Hakata, Nakasu and Tenjin within short walks. Three subway lines and a dense bus network cover the rest.

Kaohsiung's two metro lines and harbour light rail are clean and well signed, but they leave gaps in a spread-out city. Many places are a long walk or a bus ride from the nearest station, and pavements taken over by scooters make walking slower, so taxis and bike-share end up doing a lot of the work.

Fukuoka is the better shopping city. Tenjin's department stores sit above a long underground arcade, while Daimyo and Imaizumi have independent and vintage shops. It also has crafts worth carrying home, such as Hakata-ori silk, Hakata dolls and porcelain from Arita.

In Kaohsiung, shopping mostly means malls. Xinjuegang adds youth fashion and sneakers, and the night markets sell cheap clothes and gadgets. Tea, pineapple cakes and dried mullet roe are the gifts to look for, but there is no local craft to seek out.

Kaohsiung is the cheaper of the two. Market breakfasts and night-market snacks cost very little, transport fares are low, and the temples, parks and Pier-2 are free. Costs rise mainly with imported drinks and Western food.

Fukuoka is affordable by Japanese standards. Its business hotels are good value, and ramen and set lunches are cheap. Spending climbs faster, though, once sushi, kaiseki dinners or evenings in Nakasu enter the plan.

Kaohsiung has the bigger stage. Weiwuying, the wave-roofed arts centre, houses an opera house, a concert hall and a playhouse, which host touring orchestras, dance companies and the city's own symphony orchestra. The harbourside Music Center adds pop concerts, mostly by Mandarin-language acts.

Fukuoka has a respectable regional stage, with touring kabuki at Hakataza and the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra at Acros. It does better on small-venue jazz and local bands in Tenjin. Its most memorable spectacle is the dawn float race of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa in July.

Fukuoka offers far more for a restful trip. You can use neighbourhood sento and hot-spring complexes on the city's edge, and Futsukaichi Onsen is half an hour away near Dazaifu. Beppu and Yufuin are within a long day out. Ohori Park and the temple gardens of Hakata are also calm places to slow down.

Kaohsiung has no thermal baths of its own. What it does well is massage: cheap, skilled foot reflexology on ordinary streets. Its hot springs at Baolai need an overnight stay.