Nara or Takayama?

Neither city is anywhere near the coast, so plan beach days for another part of the trip. From Nara, the industrial shore of Osaka Bay is the nearest sea and the Kii Peninsula is better. From Takayama, it's about two hours to Toyama Bay, and the local way to get into water is a hot-spring bath.

The two are about level, and each has a small, distinctive set of local dishes. Nara's food is delicate: persimmon-leaf sushi, vegetables pickled in sake lees and Miwa somen noodles, with sake from a region that claims a founding role in brewing. Takayama's is heartier: Hida beef grilled on magnolia leaves or sold on skewers, soy-glazed dango and pickles from the riverside morning markets.

Both are limited for a long stay. In Nara, Osaka and Kyoto are close enough for a serious dinner. Takayama has nothing like that nearby, so a week of meals there starts to feel repetitive.

Nara has far more to see. As Japan's eighth-century capital, it has the Great Buddha in its huge wooden hall at Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji's pagoda, the lantern-lined paths to Kasuga Taisha and a museum of Buddhist sculpture as good as any in the country. West of the centre are Toshodai-ji, Yakushiji and the grounds of the Heijo Palace, which together easily fill two or three days.

Takayama's appeal is a well-preserved townscape rather than a set of major monuments. Its strengths are the dark-timbered lanes of Sanmachi Suji, the old government office at Takayama Jinya and the thatched farmhouses of Hida Folk Village. A day or two covers it.

Neither town has clubs or much life late in the evening, so the real difference is what an evening is built around. Nara empties once the day visitors leave, and a night out there is usually dinner and one more drink near the station before an early night. Its advantage is Osaka, close enough by train for a night in its bar districts, as long as you keep an eye on the last train back.

In Takayama, the evening tends to happen at the ryokan: a long dinner, a hot-spring bath and a yukata, then perhaps a sake in one of the few small bars before they close. The surrounding mountains put every larger city too far away to go there and get back in one night, so it's best to accept the quiet as part of the stay.

Takayama is the gateway to the Northern Alps. Kamikochi's riverside trails below the Hotaka range, the Okuhida ropeway, summer walking on Norikura and skiing in winter are all within reach, although reaching them means planning around bus timetables.

Nara's green space is gentler and closer at hand. The deer park, the protected Kasugayama forest and the easy climb up Mount Wakakusa are all at the edge of the centre. Further afield there's cycling across the flat basin and the cherry and maple hills of Yoshino.

Nara has an exceptional choice of day trips. Kyoto, Osaka, Horyu-ji, the burial mounds of Asuka and the tea town of Uji are all close, and Himeji and Kobe are possible in a longer day.

Takayama has one standout trip: the UNESCO-listed thatched villages of Shirakawa-go, about fifty minutes away. Hida-Furukawa and Gero Onsen are also easy. Beyond those it's mostly mountains, and Kanazawa is better treated as your next stop than as a day out.

Both are safe, clean and easy with children, and both lack a zoo, aquarium or theme park. In Nara the big draw is feeding the deer, along with squeezing through the pillar at Todai-ji, although small children need watching when the deer get pushy. In Takayama, children tend to like the street snacks, the giant festival floats, the folk village and winter snow. Either works for a day or two, and from Nara the aquariums and theme parks of Osaka are close.

Both have walkable centres and neither needs a car, though Nara is a little easier. Its main sights are a gentle walk from Kintetsu Nara station, and local trains, buses and rental bicycles cover the western temples. Takayama's old town is just as easy on foot, but trips into the mountains and to Shirakawa-go depend on regional buses, which need some planning and can fill up in busy seasons.

Shopping in both is about traditional crafts rather than fashion. Nara is known for sumi ink and brushes, hand-woven linen and Akahada pottery, sold in Naramachi and the covered arcades. Takayama's lanes sell amber-toned Shunkei lacquer, yew carvings and bentwood furniture, and the morning markets add pickles and miso. In both, the craft shops sit alongside plenty of souvenirs. If you want a department-store day, it's easy from Nara because Osaka is close.

Nara is the cheaper stay. Plenty of business hotels near its two stations serve day-trippers, and the park and deer cost nothing. The main expense is rail fares if you use it as a base, so check regional rail passes before you go.

Takayama's everyday costs are fair, but much of the reason to go costs more: a ryokan night with a multi-course dinner, a proper Hida beef meal, and rooms during the spring and autumn festivals, which book out.

Nara has more performance, almost all of it tied to ritual. Kasuga Taisha keeps alive gagaku court music and bugaku dance, the city has a claim to the birth of Noh, and there are the fire rites of Omizutori at Todai-ji. For regular theatre, Osaka is close.

Takayama's one great occasion is its spring and autumn festival, with karakuri puppets on the floats and evening lantern processions. On other days there's nothing to attend.

For a restful stay, Takayama is the better choice. Many ryokan pipe in spring water for indoor and open-air baths, the Okuhida villages have open-air pools beside mountain rivers, and Gero Onsen, one of Japan's most famous spa towns, is under an hour by train.

Nara has no hot springs of note. A Japanese soak there means an old bathhouse or a bathing complex on the edge of town. What Nara offers instead is a slow pace: the park in the early morning and the quiet old town once the day visitors leave.