Kobe or Tokyo?

Neither city is a beach destination, and in both the waterfront is mostly port. What differs is how far you have to go. From Kobe, the sandy beach at Suma is about fifteen minutes by train, with the city aquarium beside it, so a quick swim fits into an ordinary summer afternoon.

In Tokyo the town beaches at Odaiba and Kasai are for strolling, and a proper swim means about an hour south to the dark volcanic sand of the Shonan coast. That trip pairs well with Kamakura's temples, but summer weekends there are crowded.

Kobe eats very well within a recognisable range: Kobe beef teppanyaki, a long baking and cake tradition from its treaty-port years, steamed buns in Nankinmachi and the sake breweries of Nada. A few days of eating there feel rich and quite distinct from the rest of Japan.

Tokyo works at another scale. Single-dish specialists that have spent decades on soba, tempura or sushi, the depachika food halls, the Tsukiji outer market and the counters under the Yurakucho tracks give enough to fill a long stay without repeating a meal. Foreign cooking is also far better here than in Kobe.

Kobe's sights tell one clear story, that of the treaty port. You see it in the merchant houses of Kitano, Meriken Park's broken quay and the moving earthquake museum, with Ando's art museum on the bay as a modern counterpoint. It all fits comfortably into two days.

Tokyo has far more to see, even though war and earthquake removed most of its old fabric. Ueno Park alone holds the national collection of Japanese art, and Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, the palace moats and Yanaka's lanes add the heritage. Its museums and modern architecture are what put it well ahead.

A night out in Kobe means the lanes north of Sannomiya: izakaya, whisky bars and small counters for eating and drinking with a handful of regulars. There is little dancing, and locals who want a late night take the train to Osaka.

Tokyo has both the intimate side and the loud one, on a huge scale. Golden Gai's two hundred tiny bars and the themed bars stacked floor upon floor cover the first, and the clubs of Shibuya and Roppongi run until the first morning trains.

Kobe has the edge because its mountains start in town. You can walk from Shin-Kobe station past the Nunobiki falls into the Rokko range, take a ropeway up Maya for the night view, or spend a full day on the ridge traverse or the rocky Suma Alps.

Tokyo's real hills begin about an hour out, at Mount Takao and the Okutama gorges, and Fuji and Hakone are around two hours away. Those views are grander, but each one is a day's trip, while inside the city Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi Park are parks rather than wild country.

Both are excellent bases, but Kobe sits closer to the classic sights of old Japan. Himeji Castle is under an hour away, Osaka about twenty minutes, and Kyoto and Nara are easy days. The shinkansen also brings Kurashiki and even Hiroshima within reach.

Tokyo's day trips have a different character: Kamakura's Great Buddha and Zen temples, the shrines of Nikko in their cedar forest, Hakone's hot-spring inns and the old merchant streets of Kawagoe. They are well worth the trip, but from Tokyo Kyoto lies just beyond an easy day.

Kobe is easy and safe with children. Oji Zoo, the Suma aquarium, Harborland's Ferris wheel and the ropeways up Rokko make good outings, and Universal Studios Japan is about an hour away.

Tokyo has more to offer, with Disneyland and DisneySea across the bay, the Ghibli Museum, Miraikan's hands-on science and enough zoos, aquariums and toy districts for many days. The trade-off is scale: crowded rush-hour trains and huge stations are harder with a pushchair than Kobe's compact centre.

Kobe is simple because of its shape. Parallel rail lines run east to west between mountains and sea, and Chinatown, the harbour, the arcades and Kitano are all walkable from Sannomiya, though Kitano is uphill.

Tokyo's network is the denser and more complete of the two. Almost every sight is a short walk from a station, signs are in English, and walking between neighbourhoods such as Shibuya and Harajuku is part of the pleasure. The cost is a confusing first day in Shinjuku or Tokyo station and crushed trains at rush hour.

Kobe's shopping is stylish but limited: covered arcades, Daimaru and the boutiques of the old settlement, small shops along Tor Road, and local specialities such as pearls, Nagata leather shoes and Western cakes. Most visitors finish it in an afternoon.

Tokyo is in another league. Ginza's department stores and Omotesando's flagships cover luxury, Harajuku and Shimokitazawa cover vintage and independent labels, and whole districts are given over to one thing: knives in Kappabashi, books in Jimbocho, electronics in Akihabara.

Kobe is the cheaper stay, and the gap is mostly in the room. Business hotels near Sannomiya are modest and rarely full, while central Tokyo rooms are small, cost more and get dearer still in cherry-blossom season and Golden Week.

Everyday eating is a bargain in both. Each city also has its own way to spend more: in Kobe it is the beef teppanyaki dinner, shinkansen day trips and a night in Arima, in Tokyo it is taxis, cocktail bars and fine dining.

Kobe's live tradition is jazz. Small clubs and bars with resident pianists and trios dot Sannomiya and Kitano, and the Kobe Jazz Street festival fills Kitano each autumn. The Hyogo Performing Arts Center in nearby Nishinomiya covers classical concerts, but kabuki, opera and big productions mean a trip to Osaka.

In Tokyo all of that is inside the city. The Kabuki-za in Ginza sells single-act tickets, Suntory Hall and the NHK Symphony anchor a deep classical scene, the New National Theatre stages opera and ballet, and live houses in Koenji and Shimokitazawa have bands every night. You can see the Takarazuka Revue from either city: in Tokyo on its own stage, and from Kobe at its home theatre about forty minutes away.

Both cities treat bathing as part of daily life, so the difference is in the kind of bath. Kobe has Arima Onsen inside its own boundaries, about half an hour away over Mount Rokko. It is one of Japan's oldest hot-spring towns, with rust-red kinsen and clear ginsen water and ryokan for an overnight stay.

Tokyo's bathing is spread through the city instead: hundreds of neighbourhood sento, some fed by dark mineral springs, large sauna complexes, and quiet temple gardens for calm. For a true mountain onsen you go to Hakone, about ninety minutes away. In both cities many baths still turn away guests with tattoos, so check before you go.