Kanazawa or Takayama?

Kanazawa at least has a coast. There are long sandy beaches at Uchinada and the drivable sand of Chirihama, and the water is warm enough to swim in July and August. Still, it is a summer half-day out, not a reason to come.

Takayama has no sea at all. It sits deep in the Hida mountains about two hours from Toyama Bay, so the nearest thing to a swim there is a hot-spring pool.

Kanazawa is a serious food destination in its own right. You get Omicho's fish counters, winter snow crab, nodoguro and the Kaga dishes of the old castle town, served everywhere from kaiseki rooms to plain counters near the station. Its tea culture adds wagashi and matcha in the chaya teahouses, and the Kaga plain supplies the sake.

Takayama eats well but within a narrow range. Hida beef carries most of the menu, grilled on a magnolia leaf, on a skewer or as sushi on a rice cracker. Soy-glazed dango, local ramen and brewery tastings fill out the rest, and restaurants close early.

Both towns kept their Edo-period streets, but Kanazawa has far more of them, and more besides. It has Kenroku-en, the castle walls, three geisha districts, Nagamachi's samurai houses and a first-rate contemporary art museum.

Takayama has one compact old quarter, Sanmachi Suji, with the rare feudal government office of Takayama Jinya, fine merchant houses and the thatched farmhouses of Hida Folk Village. It is rewarding and atmospheric, but you can see it in a day or two.

Neither town is a place for clubbing. Kanazawa does have a real going-out district, though: Katamachi and Kigura-machi are packed with izakaya, sake bars and tiny snack bars that stay busy late at weekends. In Takayama most visitors eat dinner at their ryokan, and the few bars near the station and east of the river are quiet well before midnight.

Takayama is the stronger choice for the outdoors because the Northern Alps are within reach by bus. It has Kamikochi's flat trails beneath the Hotaka peaks, the Shin-Hotaka ropeway and high summer walking on Norikura. You will need to plan around bus timetables, and Kamikochi closes in the cold months.

Kanazawa's own nature is gentler: paths along the Sai and Asano rivers and wooded hills at the city's edge. Hakusan and the Noto coast are grand, but they are further away and much easier to reach with a car.

Both towns share the headline outing to Shirakawa-go and the Gokayama villages, which is a shorter ride from Takayama. Kanazawa's other day trips are more varied: quick Shinkansen hops to Toyama and Takaoka's Zuiryu-ji temple, the Kutani pottery villages, and Eihei-ji and the dinosaur museum in Fukui.

Takayama's trips lean towards small towns and baths. Canal-side Hida-Furukawa is a quarter of an hour away by train and Gero Onsen under an hour, but beyond those it is mostly mountain country. Each town makes a sensible onward stop from the other.

Kanazawa has more to keep children busy. They can stand beneath the pool at the 21st Century Museum, look for the trick doors of the ninja temple and run around the castle park. The zoo, the summer beaches and Fukui's dinosaur museum all make good days out.

Takayama is just as safe and calm. Children enjoy its morning markets, street snacks, giant festival floats and winter snow. Nothing there is built for them, though, so it works best as a short stop on a longer trip.

Takayama is the easier of the two to get around. Its old town, Jinya and markets are all a short, flat walk from the station, and the bus centre next to the station runs every regional trip.

Kanazawa's sights are spread along a band of about 2km. With no metro or tram, you rely on loop buses that can crawl at busy times. Bike share helps outside winter, and the Shinkansen makes arriving simple.

Kanazawa makes nearly all of Japan's gold leaf, and in the chaya districts you find it on lacquerware, cosmetics and even sweets. Kutani porcelain, Kaga yuzen silk and Ohi tea bowls add to the range, and the prefectural craft centre sells work by serious makers. For everyday shopping, Korinbo, Katamachi and Tatemachi have department stores and boutiques.

Takayama has fewer crafts, but they are distinctive: amber-finished Shunkei lacquer, carvings cut from a single block of yew, Hida bentwood furniture and sake from the breweries. Sarubobo charms and market pickles make smaller gifts. There is almost no mainstream shopping.

The two cost much the same, with fairly priced business hotels near each station and cheap everyday food. The difference is where the money goes. In Kanazawa the expensive things are seafood, kaiseki and winter crab, plus Shinkansen and bus fares for outings. In Takayama it is a ryokan night with dinner, a proper Hida beef meal and rooms during festival weeks, though the small town keeps transport costs low.

Kanazawa has a real performance calendar for a city of its size. There is Noh at the prefectural theatre, geisha dance and shamisen in the chaya teahouses, and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa playing a regular season beside the station.

Takayama's performance is its spring and autumn festival, with karakuri puppets on the floats and lantern-lit processions. Unless your dates match it, there is little to see in the evenings.

Takayama is the more restful stay because the hot springs often come with the room. Many ryokan pipe in spring water, and the riverside open-air pools of Okuhida and the famous baths of Gero Onsen are about an hour away.

Kanazawa reaches the same bathing culture with a little more effort: Yuwaku Onsen is half an hour out and the Kaga spa towns about an hour. It makes up for this with quiet garden mornings and matcha in its teahouses.