Kobe or Kyoto?

Kobe at least faces the sea. Suma's long sandy beach is about fifteen minutes away by train, with warm water and lifeguards in July and August, and Awaji Island across the strait has quieter, clearer water. Even so, it is a summer extra rather than a reason to come.

Kyoto has no coast. The nearest swimming is in the freshwater of Lake Biwa, and the good sea beaches around Amanohashidate need an overnight trip. The nearest sea beach to Kyoto is in fact Kobe's Suma, about an hour away.

Kyoto's cooking is more refined. Kaiseki served in old Gion houses, temple cuisine at Daitokuji and Tenryuji, tofu, yuba and sweets made for tea give it a depth that Kobe does not match, for all its fame. Nishiki Market adds a covered street for snacking.

Kobe's strengths are more casual: Kobe beef grilled on teppanyaki counters, a baking and cake tradition that goes back to its foreign merchants, steamed buns in Chinatown and sobameshi. Each city has a sake-brewing district, Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto, so a brewery afternoon works in either.

This is where the two cities differ most. Kyoto has seventeen UNESCO-listed sites, from Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera to the moss garden of Saiho-ji, along with well over a thousand temples and shrines, Nijo Castle and the lanes of Higashiyama. Even a week only covers part of it.

Kobe's sights tell a smaller, more modern story: the Western merchant houses of Kitano, Ikuta Shrine, and the 1995 earthquake, remembered at Meriken Park and in the disaster museum. Tadao Ando's art museum on the bay is a highlight, but two days are enough for the city's sights.

Neither city is made for late nights, and in both, clubbing until late means taking the train to Osaka. The difference is in tone. In Kobe, evenings centre on the lanes of Sannomiya, packed with izakaya and small whisky and cocktail bars, and the lit-up harbour at Harborland is good for a drink by the water.

In Kyoto, going out happens mainly in Pontocho and along the Kiyamachi canal, in sake bars and standing izakaya, with terraces over the Kamo River in summer. It has more atmosphere, but the city winds down earlier.

Both cities have hills on their doorstep, but of different kinds. Kobe's Rokko range rises straight out of the streets. Trails start near Shin-Kobe and pass the Nunobiki waterfalls, there is a long ridge walk and the rugged Suma Alps, and cable cars climb to night views over the bay. The coast towards the Akashi bridge and Awaji adds sea scenery.

Kyoto's landscape is gentler and closely tied to its temples: the bamboo groves of Arashiyama, the cedar-forest path from Kurama to Kibune, the green banks of the Kamo River and boat trips through the Hozu gorge. There are no sea views, but its blossom and maple seasons are among the most celebrated in Japan.

Both cities sit on the same excellent rail corridor, so either makes a first-rate base, and each is an easy trip from the other. Kyoto has the edge for temple country, with Nara and Uji close by and the castle and canal towns of Lake Biwa to the east.

Kobe looks west. Himeji is a short ride away, and the shinkansen from Shin-Kobe puts Okayama, Kurashiki and even Hiroshima and Miyajima within a day. Takarazuka and the Nada breweries make shorter outings.

Kobe is the easier city with children. Oji Zoo, the marine aquarium beside the sand at Suma, the indoor animal park on Port Island, the Ferris wheel at Harborland and the ropeways up Rokko, with a pasture farm at the top, are all within easy reach of a compact centre.

Kyoto has some excellent attractions for children, especially the Railway Museum with its steam locomotives and the samurai shows at Toei Studio Park. But most days revolve around temples with stairs and crowds, and the city buses are packed in busy seasons.

Kobe's long, thin shape makes it easy to understand. Parallel rail lines run east to west on one IC card, and Chinatown, the harbour, the arcades and Kitano are all within walking distance of Sannomiya, though Kitano means a climb.

Kyoto's flat central grid is good for walking and cycling, but its great temples are spread around the edges of the basin, beyond the reach of its two subway lines. That means slow, crowded buses in peak seasons, or a mix of trains, the Randen tram and a hired bicycle.

Kyoto is the better city for shopping, above all for crafts: Kiyomizu ceramics, Nishijin silk, fans, incense, washi paper, lacquer and hand-forged knives from shops run by the same families for generations, plus monthly flea markets at To-ji and Kitano Tenmangu.

Kobe's shopping is stylish but has less depth. It centres on the covered arcades of Sannomiya and Motomachi, the Daimaru department store in the old foreign settlement and the small shops around Tor Road. Its specialities are pearls, leather shoes from Nagata and Western-style cakes.

Kobe is the cheaper of the two. Everyday eating is good value in both cities, so the gap comes mostly from where you sleep. Kobe's business hotels rarely fill up, while Kyoto's hotels and ryokan cost more and become scarce and expensive during cherry blossom and autumn colour.

Each city has its own splurge: a Kobe beef teppanyaki dinner in one, a kaiseki meal in the other.

The two are close here, but what is on stage differs. Kobe's live tradition is jazz, with resident trios in small bars around Sannomiya and Kitano and the Kobe Jazz Street festival in autumn. The Takarazuka Revue performs in its home theatre about forty minutes away.

Kyoto leans towards classical Japanese forms: the spring dances of the geiko and maiko, kabuki at the Minamiza and regular Noh performances, along with an orchestra at the Kyoto Concert Hall. Much of this is seasonal, though, so the choice on an ordinary evening can be thin.

Kobe has the advantage for rest because Arima Onsen, one of Japan's oldest hot spring towns, lies within the city, about half an hour away on the far side of Mount Rokko. Its rust-coloured iron water and clear carbonated water, together with ryokan serving kaiseki dinners, make an easy afternoon or night away.

Kyoto's calm is more contemplative: century-old sento, hot springs at Kurama and Ohara, zazen sessions, tea ceremonies and nights in temple lodgings. Crowds at the main sights work against it, so it is best found early in the morning and at the northern temples.