Kyoto or Osaka?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Osaka gets closer to being one. It has proper sea beaches at Nishikinohama and Tannowa down the coast towards Wakayama, and Suma on the Kobe side, each about an hour by train and warm enough for a swim in August. The sand is coarse and the setting suburban, though.

Kyoto is inland, so its nearest swimming is in fresh water at Lake Biwa strands such as Omi-Maiko. The clear sea of the Tango Peninsula is far enough away to need an overnight stay, so a Kyoto summer means cooling off by rivers and in shaded gardens.

Both are great places to eat, but Osaka has the edge for anyone who wants to eat all day long. Food is the reason many people come. There is takoyaki from street griddles in Dotonbori, okonomiyaki cooked at the table, kushikatsu, grilled scallops at Kuromon Market and tiny izakaya in Tenma, with the sushi and kappo counters of Kitashinchi at the top end.

Kyoto offers precision rather than plenty. You eat kaiseki in Gion's old wooden houses, shojin ryori in temple grounds such as Daitokuji, and tofu, yuba and matcha sweets everywhere. Go to Kyoto for one memorable formal meal, and to Osaka for a week of grazing.

The difference is what survived the war. Kyoto was the imperial capital for more than a thousand years and was spared the bombing, so its great sights still stand in a historic townscape: Kiyomizu-dera on its wooden stage, the golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji, the rock garden of Ryoan-ji and the gate tunnels of Fushimi Inari, with whole lanes of machiya townhouses in Higashiyama between them. It can fill a week of temples without repeating itself.

Osaka was rebuilt after the war, so its heritage comes in separate pieces: the reconstructed castle on its original stone walls, Shitennoji, and Sumiyoshi Taisha with its arched red bridge. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics and the Nakanoshima museums are better than many visitors expect, and the neon of Dotonbori and old Shinsekai are worth seeing in their own right, but two or three days cover the city.

Osaka is the city for a night out, and it is known across Japan for being friendly after dark. Minami holds most of it, with the neon of Dotonbori, the standing bars of Ura-Namba and the small clubs and DJ bars of Amerikamura. The lanes around Ohatsutenjin in Umeda are packed with tiny bars, and strangers talk to each other at the counter until the first morning train.

Kyoto's evenings centre on Pontocho and the Kiyamachi canal beside the Kamo River, with sake bars and summer terraces over the water, and the city winds down early. Kyoto night owls often take the train to Osaka.

Kyoto has the landscape on its doorstep. Forested hills surround it on three sides, trails climb from the Higashiyama temples to Daimonji, Arashiyama has its bamboo groves, and a cedar-forest path links Kurama and Kibune, a short ride north. The Kamo River banks give a green route right through the centre.

Osaka itself is flat and built-up, with the castle park and riverbanks as its main green space. Its best walks need a train ride, such as the waterfall trail at Minoo or the ridges of Rokko behind Kobe. They are worthwhile, but each is an outing of its own rather than part of an ordinary day.

Both are superb bases on the same fast rail network, so the difference is which places are closest. From Kyoto, Uji is barely twenty minutes away, Nara is under an hour, and the lakeside castle at Hikone and the canals of Omihachiman are easy to reach.

Osaka is better placed for the west and south. Kobe, Himeji and Arima are close, and Koyasan is about two hours away rather than nearly three, so it is a long day out rather than a forced overnight stay. Each city is also the other's obvious day trip, as they are only around half an hour apart.

Osaka is the easier city with children. Universal Studios Japan, the Kaiyukan aquarium with its whale sharks, the Tempozan Ferris wheel, Kids Plaza and the Expo '70 park all offer days built around them. Stations and department stores have lifts and baby rooms.

Kyoto is just as safe and clean, and the steam locomotives at the Railway Museum and the ninja shows at Toei Kyoto Studio Park are real draws. Most days, though, revolve around temples, stairs and crowded buses, and families based in Kyoto often end up taking a day trip to Osaka for the theme park and aquarium.

Osaka is simpler to get around. The Midosuji line runs like a spine through Umeda, Shinsaibashi, Namba and Tennoji, and the JR loop line fills in the rest, so almost everywhere is a short ride away. Its weak point is Umeda's underground maze, where changing lines can mean a long walk.

Kyoto's flat central grid is lovely to walk and cycle, but its two subway lines miss most of the temples around the edge of the basin. That leaves slow buses that are packed in blossom and maple season. Combining trains with walking, or hiring a bicycle, works better.

Kyoto's shopping is built on craft. Family-run shops sell Kiyomizu-ware ceramics, Nishijin silk, fans, incense, washi paper and tea by weight, the Teramachi and Shinkyogoku arcades mix antique prints with cheap clothes, and the monthly flea markets at To-ji and Kitano Tenmangu are worth planning a visit around. Designer labels are thin on the ground.

Osaka has the wider range and more of it in one place. Shinsaibashi-suji runs as a long covered arcade towards Namba, the Umeda department stores have luxury floors, Midosuji holds the international flagships, Amerikamura sells vintage and streetwear, and Den Den Town covers electronics, anime and games. Anyone who cooks will find knives in both: hand-forged in Kyoto's old family shops, and a whole street of them along Sennichimae Doguyasuji.

Osaka is kinder to a tight budget. Everyday food is cheap in both cities, but in Osaka street snacks and izakaya stay good value even in the busiest districts, and most of its temples and parks are free or nearly so. Business hotels slightly outside Namba or Umeda keep rooms affordable.

Kyoto's costs come mainly from where you stay and from formal dining. Ryokan and kaiseki dinners are a splurge, and rooms become scarce in cherry blossom and autumn colour seasons. Osaka gets busy in those seasons too, and Universal Studios is its main big expense.

Each city has a classical stage tradition of its own, and Osaka's is easier to catch on an ordinary evening. The National Bunraku Theatre stages full puppet seasons with English guides, and Festival Hall and Symphony Hall host orchestras. Rock and jazz play in small venues around Minami, and the Takarazuka Revue is nearby, though the manzai comedy is in Japanese only.

Kyoto's highlights are rarer and depend on the season: the spring dances of the geiko and maiko, the year-end Kaomise kabuki at the Minamiza, and masked Noh drama. If your dates fit, Kyoto offers the more unusual evening. Otherwise there is less to choose from.

Both cities have a living bathhouse culture and the same onsen town, Arima, about an hour away, so the difference is in mood. Kyoto's calm is contemplative: raked gravel gardens, zazen sessions, tea ceremony, nights in temple lodgings or ryokan with deep wooden tubs, and hot springs at Kurama and Ohara on its edges.

Osaka's version is social. Large super sento with saunas and open-air pools make for a long, cheap evening of soaking in a city where few people come to slow down.