Nara or Tokyo?

Neither city is a place for a beach trip, but Tokyo is the better of the two for a swim. The Shonan coast at Kamakura and Enoshima is about an hour away by train, with dark volcanic sand and warm water in July and August.

Nara is in an inland basin. Its nearest shore is the industrial edge of Osaka Bay, and the clear water of the Kii Peninsula takes most of a day to reach. In summer, a hotel pool is the realistic way to cool off.

Nara's food is a short list of local dishes to try once: persimmon-leaf sushi, vegetables pickled in sake lees, Miwa somen noodles and sake tastings around Naramachi. Away from those, it is mostly quick lunches near the park, and many kitchens close early.

Tokyo is in a different league. It has specialist counters that have made one dish for decades, the Tsukiji outer market, the depachika food halls and the yakitori alleys under the tracks at Yurakucho, and you can eat well at any level without planning ahead. Many people staying in Nara take the train to Osaka for dinner.

The two are level here, but their heritage is of very different kinds. Nara keeps an exceptional, compact group of temples and shrines that date from the eighth-century capital or stand on sites from that time. They include the Great Buddha hall at Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji's pagoda, the lantern-lined paths to Kasuga Taisha and the Tang-style halls of Toshodai-ji and Yakushiji. Many of the buildings were rebuilt over the centuries, and the palace itself survives only as an open archaeological site. Even so, it is all close together and best seen slowly over a few days.

Tokyo lost most of its older buildings in 1923 and 1945, so its temples, shrines and gardens are scattered through a modern city. Its strength is museums. The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno holds the largest collection of Japanese art anywhere, and modern buildings such as Tange's Olympic gymnasium add something Nara does not have.

Tokyo wins this easily. It has hundreds of tiny themed bars stacked through Shinjuku, izakaya around every major station and clubs in Shibuya and Roppongi that stay open until the first morning train.

In Nara, an evening means dinner at an izakaya near Kintetsu Nara station and perhaps a glass at a sake counter, and most places close early. For a real night out you have to go to Osaka, and the last train back decides when the night ends.

Tokyo has a slight edge because its trains reach real mountains. Mount Takao and the Okutama gorges are inside the wider Tokyo area, and Hakone and the Fuji Five Lakes give views of Mount Fuji.

In Nara, nature is closer to hand and gentler. The deer park, the protected Kasugayama forest and the grassy slope of Mount Wakakusa start where the town ends. The Yamanobe-no-michi path and the flat basin are good for an easy walk or a bike ride, and Yoshino's blossom hills are within reach.

Nara has the stronger choice of day trips. Kyoto and Osaka are both under an hour away, and Horyu-ji, home to the oldest wooden buildings in the world, is a short ride from the centre. The burial mounds of Asuka, the mountain temples of Hase-dera and Muro-ji, and the tea town of Uji are close as well.

Tokyo is also a good base, with Kamakura, Nikko's Toshogu shrine, Yokohama and the Edo-period streets of Kawagoe all within easy reach. Kyoto, though, is too far for a comfortable day out from Tokyo, while it is a short hop from Nara.

Tokyo is far better for a long vacation with children. Disneyland and DisneySea, the Ghibli Museum, Ueno Zoo, several aquariums and the hands-on Miraikan science museum can fill a week. Stations with lifts and baby rooms make the logistics easy.

Nara offers one or two excellent days. Children can feed the deer, see the Great Buddha and squeeze through the pillar at Todai-ji. After that there is no zoo or aquarium, and families usually go to Osaka for those.

Tokyo's trains are hard to beat: the densest network in the world, one card for everything, signs in English and a station near almost every sight. The main drawbacks are confusing giant stations and crowded rush hours.

Nara is easy in a different way. You walk from Kintetsu Nara station to the park, the main temples and Naramachi. Local trains, buses or a rented bicycle take you to the western temples and Horyu-ji, although the buses fill up at busy weekends.

Tokyo is one of the great shopping cities. It has the department stores of Ginza, the architect-designed flagships on Omotesando, vintage clothing in Shimokitazawa and whole districts for one thing, such as electronics in Akihabara and kitchen knives on Kappabashi.

Shopping in Nara is narrower and more local. Naramachi has centuries-old sumi ink and brush makers, hand-woven linen and Akahada pottery, and the covered arcades sell sweets and deer souvenirs. Anyone who wants fashion goes to Osaka.

Nara is the cheaper stay, mainly because there are plenty of guesthouses and business hotels near its two stations. The park costs nothing, and the temples charge only small entry fees. Rail fares for day trips add up, though, so check regional passes before you go.

Tokyo's everyday food is a real bargain, from set lunches to convenience-store meals. Its central rooms are small and cost more, and prices rise sharply in cherry-blossom season and Golden Week.

Tokyo has a stage scene that Nara cannot match. You can see kabuki at the Kabuki-za, often just a single act, or Takarazuka's revue, hear the NHK Symphony in Suntory Hall, or catch a band in a small live house in Koenji or Shimokitazawa.

Nara's performances are older and tied to particular dates. Gagaku court music and bugaku dance are performed at Kasuga Taisha, above all at the winter On-matsuri, and the fire rites of Omizutori take place at Todai-ji in early spring. Outside those dates, the stage is mostly in Osaka.

Tokyo offers much more for anyone who wants a proper soak. There are hundreds of neighbourhood sento, some fed with hot-spring water, large bathing complexes with saunas, and Hakone's onsen inns about ninety minutes away. Many baths still turn away guests with tattoos, so check first.

Nara has a few old bathhouses and complexes on the edge of town, but no hot springs of its own. Its strength is calm. The park at dawn, tea near a temple garden and the quiet old town in the evening make it a good place to slow down between busier cities.