Kyoto or Nagoya?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Nagoya makes a swim easier. Sandy beaches on the Chita Peninsula, such as Utsumi, are about an hour away by train, and the island of Shinojima is a short ferry ride beyond. They are wide and sheltered, though the water is not very clear.

From Kyoto the nearest swimming is the freshwater shore of Lake Biwa at Omi-Maiko, or Suma, a plain city beach on Osaka Bay. The clear water of the Sea of Japan coast at Amanohashidate is far enough away that you need to stay a night.

Both cities eat very well, but in different styles. Kyoto has the more refined table: kaiseki served in Gion's old wooden houses, shojin ryori inside temple grounds, tofu and yuba, sweets made for tea, and sake from the breweries of Fushimi. It has more serious restaurants than its size would suggest.

Nagoya's cooking is richer and heavier, built on dark red miso. Its dishes include hitsumabushi eel, miso katsu, peppery tebasaki wings and misonikomi udon, each served by its own specialist restaurants. The food is filling and full of local character, but the top tier of restaurants is smaller than Kyoto's.

This is where the two cities differ most. Kyoto escaped wartime bombing and kept a thousand years of imperial heritage: Kinkaku-ji, the rock garden of Ryoan-ji, the gate tunnels of Fushimi Inari, Nijo Castle and whole lanes of machiya in Higashiyama. That is enough to fill a week without repeating yourself.

Nagoya lost most of its old city in 1945, so its history comes as separate sights in a modern grid: the rebuilt castle with its reconstructed Honmaru Palace, the forest shrine of Atsuta and the Tokugawa Art Museum. Its real strength is industrial history, with the Toyota museum and the railway museum showing how modern Japan was built.

Neither city stays up late, but Nagoya offers more of a night out. Sakae and Nishiki pack izakaya, tiny bars, karaoke and a few dance clubs into narrow buildings, and some places stay open until morning at weekends.

Kyoto's evenings are gentler and more scenic. There is sake and whisky in lantern-lit Pontocho and along the Kiyamachi canal, terraces over the river in summer, and the streets of Gion for atmosphere. For anything louder, people in Kyoto take the train to Osaka.

Kyoto has the greener setting. Forested hills surround it on three sides, so the trail up Daimonji, the bamboo groves of Arashiyama, the cedar-forest path between Kurama and Kibune and the boat trips down the Hozu gorge are all close at hand.

Nagoya sits on the flat, built-up Nobi Plain, and beyond its parks the real countryside is an hour or more away. Options include Mount Gozaisho in the Suzuka Mountains, the autumn maples of Korankei gorge, and the old Nakasendo road through the Kiso Valley.

Both are excellent bases, and Kyoto is the better of the two. Nara, Uji, Osaka, Kobe and Himeji are all within about an hour, so many of the region's best-known sights sit around it.

Nagoya's day trips go in other directions: Ise Jingu, the original castle keep at Inuyama, the pottery towns of Seto and Tokoname, and the old post towns of Tsumago and Magome. Kyoto is a quick bullet-train ride away, but Nara takes about two hours.

With children, Nagoya is the better choice. The port aquarium is one of the largest in Japan, with orcas and belugas. Higashiyama Zoo, the Science Museum planetarium, the full-size bullet trains at the railway museum, Legoland and Ghibli Park are all in or near the city, and the stations have lifts. Expect long train rides between them.

Kyoto is just as safe and clean, and its Railway Museum is excellent. But most days revolve around temples with stairs and crowds, and many families go to Osaka for a theme park.

Both are easy to get around without a car, but in different ways. Kyoto's flat central grid is a pleasure on foot or by bicycle along the Kamo River. However, its two subway lines miss most of the temples, so you rely on a mix of private railways, the Randen tram and buses that are slow and crowded in the peak seasons.

Nagoya's wide postwar avenues are less pleasant to walk. On the other hand, the subway reaches the sights, a single IC card works on the subway and every railway, and the big interchange at Nagoya Station makes trips around the region simple.

Kyoto is the better place to buy something that will last. Family-run shops sell Kiyomizu-ware ceramics, Nishijin silk, fans, incense, hand-forged knives and matcha, and the monthly flea markets at To-ji and Kitano Tenmangu are worth timing a visit around.

Nagoya is stronger on department stores, with large ones around Sakae and above the station, and international brands nearby. The arcades of Osu add secondhand clothes, anime and electronics, while Arimatsu shibori and Seto pottery offer crafts on a smaller scale.

Nagoya is the cheaper place to stay, mainly because its many business hotels keep room prices moderate, and morning service turns a coffee into breakfast. The money goes on eel, bullet-train day trips and the theme parks.

In Kyoto, everyday meals, transport and temple entry are also inexpensive, but hotels and ryokan cost more. In the cherry blossom and autumn colour seasons, rooms become scarce and expensive.

Kyoto's performances are more distinctive. The spring dances of the geisha districts, kabuki at the Minamiza (Japan's oldest kabuki theatre) and regular Noh are things a visitor rarely sees elsewhere, though much of the programme is seasonal.

Nagoya has more Western music and theatre, with opera and ballet at the Aichi Arts Center, the Nagoya Philharmonic's concert season and long-running musicals, alongside kabuki at the Misono-za. Most of it is aimed at Japanese speakers.

Kyoto offers the deeper calm. You can join zazen meditation or a tea ceremony, stay overnight in a temple lodging, sit before a raked gravel garden, bathe in a century-old sento, or soak in the hot springs at Kurama and Ohara. The catch is the crowds, so it rewards early mornings.

Nagoya's strength is easy everyday bathing in large super sento with saunas and open-air pools, and Gero Onsen, a classic spa town, is about two hours away by train. The city itself is orderly rather than restful.