Hiroshima or Kamakura?

Kamakura is the one where a swim fits naturally into the day. The long curve of Yuigahama and Zaimokuza lies within walking distance of the station, beach houses go up in summer, and the Enoden runs on to Koshigoe and Katase, with calmer water at Zushi and Hayama. The sand is dark and volcanic, though, and the water is rarely clear.

Hiroshima's waterfront is port and reclaimed land, so a beach means taking a ferry to Miyajima, Ninoshima or Etajima, or travelling out towards Kure. The sheltered Inland Sea is calm and warm in high summer, but the beaches are small and jellyfish arrive late in the season.

Hiroshima eats better and with more variety. It has a signature dish in layered okonomiyaki, oysters from the bay, conger eel and tsukemen, plus izakaya across Nagarekawa and Hondori and the sake breweries of Saijo a short train ride away.

Kamakura's cooking is gentler and more seasonal: whitebait over rice near the beach, refined shojin ryori around the Zen temples, and snacks on Komachi-dori. It has little to offer late in the evening, and for serious sushi or ramen most visitors go up the line to Yokohama or Tokyo.

Kamakura has more history to walk through. As the seat of Japan's first warrior government it kept its temples: the open-air Great Buddha, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu at the end of its avenue, and the great Zen temples of Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji, with Hase-dera, Hokoku-ji's bamboo and Meigetsu-in's round window to follow.

Hiroshima offers one experience of enormous weight rather than a spread of old buildings. The A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum need half a day and some emotional room. Beyond them come the castle grounds, Shukkeien garden and a largely modern city, because the bombing left little older architecture standing.

Hiroshima has a real night out, and Kamakura does not. Nagarekawa is a grid of buildings packed with tiny counter bars, izakaya and karaoke, busy past midnight on Fridays and after home baseball games, even if it remains local in character. In Kamakura a few bars near the station and the beach serve a drink after dinner, nothing runs late, and anyone wanting more takes the train to Yokohama or Tokyo.

Kamakura has a slight edge because its nature starts at the temple gates. Ridge trails such as the Daibutsu and Tenen routes link the temples through forest, the bay has surfers and paddleboarders, and on clear winter days Fuji shows across the water.

Hiroshima's outdoors lie further afield but range more widely: the forested islands of the Inland Sea, the climb up Mount Misen on Miyajima, the long walk through Sandankyo Gorge, and the island-hopping Shimanami Kaido cycle route from near Onomichi.

Both are first-rate bases, but the trips differ. Kamakura's include big cities: Yokohama is under half an hour away and Tokyo about an hour, with Enoshima on the doorstep and Hakone's hot springs and lake further west.

Hiroshima's list leans towards historic towns and islands. Miyajima's floating torii comes first, followed by Iwakuni's arched bridge, Takehara's merchant quarter, Onomichi and the rabbit island of Okunoshima, with Himeji Castle and Kurashiki an easy shinkansen ride away.

Kamakura has a little more to fill a family day. Children can climb inside the Great Buddha, ride the Enoden along the sea, explore Enoshima's caves and visit the large aquarium at Katase, and summer brings gentle swimming. Temple staircases and weekend crowds are the cost.

Hiroshima is flatter and easier to push a stroller around, and Miyajima's deer, the Misen ropeway and Okunoshima's rabbits are reliable hits. It has no aquarium or theme park nearby, though, and parents need to think carefully about the graphic material in the Peace Memorial Museum.

Neither town needs a car, but they work differently. Hiroshima is a flat city on a delta, where broad riverside streets, Japan's largest tram network and a shinkansen stop do the work. Kamakura is a small town on foot and on the little Enoden, with JR trains to Tokyo, but its narrow roads clog at weekends and many temples sit up valleys or flights of steps.

Hiroshima gives a shopper more to work with. The covered Hondori arcade has department stores and chains, the station area has malls and food halls, and good local buys include Kumano brushes, Miyajima rice paddles and Saijo sake.

Kamakura's shopping is an afternoon on Komachi-dori and Wakamiya-oji, with sweets, tenugui and temple souvenirs. Kamakura-bori lacquered woodwork is the craft to look for, and anything more ambitious means a trip to Yokohama.

Hiroshima is the easier one on the wallet. It has plenty of fairly priced business hotels, cheap okonomiyaki and noodle lunches, and the Peace Park is free to walk, so the main costs are shinkansen fares for day trips and a night on Miyajima.

In Kamakura the problem is where to sleep. Hotels are few and popular with Tokyo weekenders, which is why many visitors stay in Yokohama or Fujisawa, although temple fees and lunches stay modest.

Hiroshima has more to watch on an ordinary evening. Kagura, the masked and drummed Shinto dance-drama of the surrounding mountains, is staged regularly for visitors, and the city also has a symphony orchestra and concert halls. In Kamakura, performances mostly follow the shrine calendar, with spring dance and autumn yabusame archery at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, plus occasional Noh.

Neither town has hot springs of its own, so each offers a different kind of calm. In Hiroshima it comes from bathing, in sento, super-sento and hotel rooftop baths, or from a ryokan night on Miyajima. In Kamakura it comes from zazen at Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji and early mornings among the moss gardens of Kita-Kamakura, with Hakone's onsen within reach.