Kobe or Osaka?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Kobe has the easier swim. Suma's long sandy beach is about fifteen minutes from the centre, and Awaji Island across the strait has quieter, clearer water.

From Osaka the same Suma beach, or Tannowa towards Wakayama, takes around an hour, and the coarse sand and suburban settings make these more of a summer outing than a reason to stay.

Kobe eats well but in a more refined key. Its strengths are Kobe beef at teppanyaki counters, a pastry and coffee-house tradition from its treaty-port days, Nankinmachi's buns and the sake breweries of Nada.

Osaka makes food the whole point of the visit. Takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu in Dotonbori, grazing at Kuromon Market and elbow-to-elbow izakaya in Tenma give it far greater range and energy, and Kitashinchi's kaiseki counters cover the top end.

Kobe's sights are small and tied to one story: the merchant houses of Kitano, Ikuta Shrine, and the 1995 earthquake told at Meriken Park and the disaster museum. Tadao Ando's art museum on the bay adds a modern landmark.

Osaka has more weight. It offers Osaka Castle on its original walls, the ancient foundations of Shitennoji and Sumiyoshi Taisha, and a stronger museum cluster on Nakanoshima, including a fine collection of Oriental ceramics. Neither is a heritage city, and both send temple lovers on to Kyoto and Nara.

Kobe's evenings are low-key: whisky bars and tiny counters in the lanes north of Sannomiya, then a stroll by the lit-up harbour at Harborland. For anything loud, Kobe locals take the train to Osaka.

Osaka is where they go. Dotonbori's neon, the standing bars of Ura-Namba, Amerikamura's DJ bars and the little bars around Ohatsutenjin keep going until the first train, and strangers chat at the counter easily.

Kobe lives against its mountains. The Rokko range rises right behind the city, with the Nunobiki falls, cable cars up Maya and Rokko for night views over the bay, and a full ridge traverse for serious walkers.

Osaka's own green space is mostly the castle park and the riverbanks, so getting into nature means riding out to Minoo's waterfall trail, Mount Ikoma or, tellingly, Kobe's Rokko hills.

Both are superb bases on the same rail corridor, and the difference is mainly direction. Kobe puts Himeji Castle under an hour away and gets you onto the shinkansen west to Okayama, Kurashiki and Hiroshima.

Osaka sits nearer the temple cities, with Kyoto under half an hour and Nara about forty minutes away. It also reaches the monasteries of Koyasan, Uji's tea houses and the towns of Lake Biwa.

Both cities are safe and clean, with baby rooms and lifts everywhere. Kobe offers gentler outings: Oji Zoo, the aquarium beside Suma beach and the ropeways up Rokko to a pasture farm.

Osaka has the big attractions. Universal Studios Japan is a short ride from the centre, Kaiyukan has its whale-shark tank, and Kids Plaza and Expo '70 Commemorative Park add more. The trade-off is weekend crowds and heavier summer heat.

Kobe's long, thin shape keeps things simple. Parallel rail lines run east to west, and Chinatown, the harbour and Kitano are all walkable from Sannomiya, though Kitano involves a climb.

Osaka covers more ground smoothly with the Midosuji line and the JR loop, and its flat streets suit a hired bicycle. Changing trains in the underground maze of Umeda can be slow, however. The same IC card works in both cities.

Kobe's shopping is stylish but compact. It runs to arcades through Motomachi, boutiques in the old foreign settlement around Daimaru, and local specialities such as pearls, Nagata leather shoes and Western-style cakes.

Osaka has the scale Kobe shoppers travel for. Shinsaibashi-suji, the Umeda department stores and the Midosuji flagships cover fashion, Den Den Town covers electronics and anime, and the knife shops of Doguyasuji supply the best souvenir.

Costs are much the same in both, and everyday eating is good value in either. In Kobe, the big spends are a Kobe beef dinner, the mountain cable cars and a night in an Arima ryokan, while business hotels rarely fill up.

In Osaka, rooms are the pressure point, especially at weekends and in blossom and leaf season, and a Universal Studios day adds up. Staying just outside Namba or Umeda helps.

Kobe's stage life is mostly jazz. It has small clubs with resident trios around Sannomiya and Kitano, and the Kobe Jazz Street festival each autumn, with classical concerts at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya.

Osaka offers more variety. Bunraku has its national home in Nippombashi with English guides, kabuki visits in seasonal runs, and Festival Hall and Symphony Hall host orchestras. Manzai comedy in Namba is a local speciality, though only in Japanese. Both are within reach of the Takarazuka Revue.

Kobe has the edge because Arima Onsen, with its iron-red kinsen and clear ginsen springs, lies within the city across Mount Rokko. An afternoon soak or an overnight ryokan stay is easy to fit in, and the foothill gardens and harbour promenades keep the pace slow.

Osaka's version of rest is a long evening in a super sento, or an early morning at Sumiyoshi Taisha. Arima is still reachable, but at about an hour away it is a proper excursion from a city that rarely slows down.