Fukuoka or Tokyo?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Fukuoka makes swimming easier. Momochi Seaside Park lies within the city for an evening paddle, and the clear water and white sand of the Itoshima peninsula are under an hour away, with Nokonoshima and Shikanoshima as quieter islands.

Tokyo's bay shore at Odaiba and Kasai is for strolling, so swimming means a train ride of about an hour to Kamakura, Zushi or Enoshima on the Shonan coast. The sand there is dark and volcanic, and summer weekends bring the crowds of a capital.

Fukuoka is a superb place to eat in its own regional way: tonkotsu ramen in Hakata and Nagahama, yatai stalls along the river in Nakasu, mentaiko, motsunabe and very fresh fish from the Genkai Sea. It is a focused, local food city.

Tokyo goes much further. Its specialist counters, kaiseki rooms and sushi masters sit alongside the depachika food halls, the Tsukiji outer market and the yakitori alleys under the tracks at Yurakucho, and its French, Italian and Chinese cooking reaches a standard Fukuoka cannot match. For a trip built around eating, the capital offers far more choice.

Both cities lost much of their past and were rebuilt, but Tokyo kept or restored far more. Senso-ji in Asakusa, Meiji Jingu, the Imperial Palace moats and the gardens of Hama-rikyu and Rikugien sit beside the Ueno museums, led by the Tokyo National Museum's vast collection of Japanese art.

Fukuoka's sightseeing fits into two or three days: the temple quarter of old Hakata with Shofukuji and Tochoji, the castle walls above Ohori Park, and the City Museum's ancient gold seal. Pleasant rather than essential, and its grander heritage, such as Dazaifu, lies outside the city.

Fukuoka is a friendly, late-drinking city, but its nights are built around long dinners, yatai stools in Nakasu and bar-hopping through Daimyo and Tenjin, with only a small club scene.

Tokyo's night is on another scale. Golden Gai's two hundred tiny bars, whole buildings of whisky and vinyl bars, and the yakitori smoke of Omoide Yokocho lead on to clubs in Shibuya and Roppongi that run until the first morning trains. For dancing, Tokyo is the only real option of the two.

Tokyo has the slightly stronger outdoors, mainly because its trains reach mountains: Mount Takao for an easy forest hike, the gorges of Okutama, and Hakone and the Fuji Five Lakes for views of Mount Fuji.

Fukuoka's nature is more about sea and coast: the rocky capes and rice terraces of Itoshima, the flower slopes of Nokonoshima, cycling at Uminonakamichi and hikes in the Sefuri range. Its big volcanic scenery at Aso and Kuju is a long day away.

Both are excellent bases, but they serve different trips. From Fukuoka the shinkansen spreads out across a whole island and beyond: Kumamoto castle, Nagasaki's harbour history and even Hiroshima and Miyajima, with Dazaifu and the canal town of Yanagawa close by.

Tokyo's day trips stay nearer and lean towards temples and resorts: Kamakura's Great Buddha, the Toshogu shrine at Nikko, Yokohama's harbour, the Edo streets of Kawagoe and the hot springs of Hakone.

Fukuoka is calm, compact and clean, with Marine World's dolphin show, the Anpanman Children's Museum and easy half-days in Ohori Park. Its drawback is the lack of any big theme-park resort.

Tokyo has that and much more: Disneyland and DisneySea across the bay, the Ghibli Museum, Ueno Zoo and Miraikan in Odaiba. Lifts, baby rooms and spotless toilets are everywhere, so a longer family stay is easy to fill. Huge stations and rush-hour trains take more patience than Fukuoka does.

Fukuoka wins on arrival, with the airport just minutes by subway from Hakata Station, and its flat centre links Hakata, Nakasu, Tenjin and Daimyo on foot. Beyond its three subway lines, though, the buses take some working out.

Tokyo's rail network is in a different class: the Yamanote loop, the metro and overground lines put almost every sight a short walk from a station, with English signs throughout. Expect confusing giant stations at first and crammed trains at rush hour.

Fukuoka's shopping centres on Tenjin's department stores and underground arcade, Daimyo's independent fashion and Canal City by Hakata Station, with Hakata-ori silk and Arita porcelain as local crafts.

Tokyo is a shopping destination in its own right. Ginza and Omotesando carry luxury and architectural flagships, Harajuku and Shimokitazawa are full of vintage, and districts such as Akihabara, Kappabashi and Jimbocho each specialise deeply. For a trip where shopping matters, the capital is far ahead.

Fukuoka is the gentler city on the wallet. Food is cheap in both, but Fukuoka's business hotels near Hakata and Tenjin cost less, and the short airport subway ride saves money from the first hour.

In Tokyo, rooms are where the budget goes, as central hotels are small and pricey and climb further in cherry-blossom season and Golden Week. Eating the way residents do keeps the rest manageable.

Tokyo's stage life is vastly richer. The Kabuki-za's single-act tickets, Noh theatres, the Takarazuka Revue, opera and ballet at the New National Theatre and acoustically famous halls such as Suntory Hall are backed by jazz listening bars and live houses in Koenji and Shimokitazawa.

Fukuoka offers touring shows at Hakataza and the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra in the Acros building. Its most striking performance is outdoors: the dawn float races of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa in July.

Bathing culture runs deeper in Tokyo, where hundreds of neighbourhood sento survive, some fed by dark mineral spring water, and large complexes with saunas fill whole afternoons. Hakone's onsen inns are about ninety minutes away.

Fukuoka's strength is closer, easier calm: Futsukaichi Onsen half an hour south, and an unhurried city pace around Ohori Park. Beppu and Yufuin are the bigger prize, but they take a long day.