Kyoto or Takayama?

Neither is a place to swim, but Kyoto at least has options within reach. In summer there is a freshwater dip on the sandy Lake Biwa strands such as Omi-Maiko, and a city beach on Osaka Bay about an hour away by train.

Takayama lies deep in the Hida mountains, with the coast at Toyama Bay some two hours off, and the closest it comes to bathing is a hot-spring soak. For real sand, plan a separate stop: from Kyoto that could be the Tango Peninsula.

Kyoto is one of Japan's great eating cities. It has kaiseki in the old wooden houses of Gion, shojin ryori in temple precincts such as Daitokuji, tofu and yuba, the stalls of Nishiki Market and the sake breweries of Fushimi. Its serious restaurants could fill a long stay without repeating.

Takayama eats well but narrowly. The highlights are Hida beef grilled on a magnolia leaf or on skewers, soy-glazed dango, the local ramen and tastings at the old breweries in the merchant quarter. That is a pleasure for two or three days, but after that the menu starts to repeat.

Here the gap is wide. Kyoto has seventeen UNESCO-listed sites, from Kinkaku-ji and the rock garden of Ryoan-ji to Nijo Castle. Add Fushimi Inari, the Kyoto National Museum and the machiya lanes of Higashiyama, and there is enough for a week of sightseeing.

Takayama offers one coherent, well-preserved old town. It has the timbered lanes of Sanmachi Suji, the feudal government office of Takayama Jinya, the Kusakabe and Yoshijima merchant houses and the farmhouses of Hida Folk Village. All of it is atmospheric and easy to take in within a day or two, and that is also its limit.

Neither is a destination for a night out, but Kyoto gives an evening more to do. Pontocho and the Kiyamachi canal have small bars, sake bars, standing izakaya and a few clubs, and Osaka's late nights are under an hour away by train.

In Takayama most visitors eat dinner at their ryokan. A beer or a sake in one of the izakaya near the station is about as far as the evening goes, and little is open after eleven.

Both are ringed by forested hills, but the scale differs. Kyoto's nature is gentle and close at hand: the Daimonji trail behind the eastern temples, the bamboo of Arashiyama, the cedar path from Kurama to Kibune and the green banks of the Kamo River. Cherry blossom and maple colour are its great seasonal shows.

Takayama is the gateway to the Northern Alps. The Shin-Hotaka ropeway rises towards peaks near 3,000m, Kamikochi has riverside trails, Norikura has high walking in summer, and there is snow and skiing in winter. The landscape is grander, but getting to it depends on bus timetables rather than a walk from the door.

Kyoto is among the best day-trip bases in Japan. Nara's deer and great Buddha, Osaka's food streets, the Byodo-in at Uji, Himeji Castle and Kobe are all quick to reach by fast train, often without any planning ahead.

Takayama has a strong but shorter list. Shirakawa-go's thatched village is under an hour away by bus, Hida-Furukawa's canals and storehouses are a short train ride, and Gero Onsen lies close by to the south. Kanazawa is far enough away to make more sense as the next stop than as a day out.

Both are safe, clean and easy with children, but Kyoto has more that is built for them. There is the Kyoto Railway Museum with its steam roundhouse and simulators, an aquarium and a zoo near the centre, samurai shows at Toei Kyoto Studio Park, and Osaka's theme park within reach.

Children enjoy Takayama mostly by chance: market snacks, the giant festival floats, the folk village and the winter snow. It has no zoo, aquarium or theme park, so it fits best as a day or two on a longer family tour of Japan.

Kyoto is a city you piece together, while Takayama is a town you walk. Kyoto's flat central grid is good on foot or by hired bicycle. Its great temples are scattered around the edges of the basin, though, so seeing them means mixing JR lines, private railways, the Randen tram and buses that are slow and packed in cherry blossom and autumn colour seasons.

In Takayama the old town, the Jinya and the morning markets are within fifteen minutes' walk of the station, and a circular bus climbs to the folk village. The planning starts further out, when reaching Shirakawa-go or the Okuhida valleys depends on regional bus connections.

Both towns are best for traditional craft, and Kyoto has far more of it, plus a modern centre. Family shops that go back generations sell Kiyomizu-ware, Nishijin silk, fans, incense and hand-forged knives. The Teramachi arcades and the To-ji and Kitano Tenmangu flea markets are good for browsing, and Shijo has the department stores.

Takayama's lanes focus on a few local crafts: amber Shunkei lacquer, yew carvings, Hida bentwood furniture and sarubobo charms, with pickles and miso from the morning markets. It is rewarding if you want one or two well-made objects, but there is little beyond that.

Costs are much the same, and in both towns most of the money goes on the room and the big dinner rather than the day itself. In Kyoto that means hotels and ryokan, which are dearest at cherry blossom and autumn colour time, plus a kaiseki dinner as the splurge. A business hotel near the station and lunch rather than dinner at good restaurants keep the bill in check.

In Takayama the money goes on a ryokan night with a full dinner, a proper Hida beef meal and rooms during the spring and autumn festival weeks. Guesthouses, market food and the short walks between sights cost little.

Kyoto has a real stage life. There are the spring dances of the geiko and maiko, kabuki at the Minamiza, Japan's oldest kabuki theatre, regular Noh, a symphony orchestra at the Kyoto Concert Hall, and opera and dance at ROHM Theatre. On a random evening the choice can still be thin.

In Takayama, performance happens almost only during the spring and autumn festival, with karakuri puppets on the floats and lantern-lit processions. If your visit falls on those days it is memorable; otherwise there is little to see.

Kyoto has more ways to slow down, but each takes some seeking out. A bath means walking to a tiled neighbourhood sento and learning the etiquette, or travelling out to the springs at Kurama or Arashiyama. The deeper calm comes from zazen, a tea ceremony or a quiet hour by a gravel garden, and in a city this popular you have to get up early to find it.

Takayama is the easier place to rest, because rest is the starting point rather than something you plan. The town is small and quiet by evening, so a stay soon falls into a pattern of bath, dinner and an early night. Each town has a celebrated spa town about an hour away, but from Kyoto that is a day out from the sights, while around Takayama the mountain springs are a main reason for coming.