Osaka or Hiroshima?

Neither city is worth choosing for swimming, and they are about equal on it. What differs is the kind of outing. From Hiroshima a swim usually means a ferry to a small sandy cove on Miyajima, Ninoshima or Etajima, in calm, sheltered water that suits a family afternoon on an island day.

Osaka's beaches are reached by train instead: Suma towards Kobe or Tannowa and Nishikinohama down the coast, roughly an hour away, with coarse sand and a suburban backdrop. They make an easier summer outing from the city, but the setting is plainer than Hiroshima's islands.

Osaka is the far better city for eating. Both cook okonomiyaki on the griddle, but in Osaka that is only the start: takoyaki from Dotonbori stalls, kushikatsu, kitsune udon, grazing at Kuromon Market and in the Umeda food halls, and refined kaiseki and sushi counters in Kitashinchi at the very top level.

Hiroshima's table is narrower but has real character. Its layered okonomiyaki, oysters from the bay in winter and the sake breweries of Saijo are worth seeking out, yet fine dining and foreign cuisines are limited, so a week of meals here would repeat itself sooner.

The two are evenly matched for sights, and both need about two or three days, but the experience is very different. Hiroshima is built around one visit of great weight: the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Museum, which deserve half a day and some emotional space, with the Edo-period Shukkeien garden as a calm counterpoint.

Osaka's heritage comes in scattered pieces: the castle on its huge original walls, the ancient temple of Shitennoji, Sumiyoshi Taisha with its arched bridge, and the ceramics and art museums of Nakanoshima. Much of its interest is the modern city itself, from the neon of Dotonbori to old Shinsekai.

Osaka is one of Japan's best cities for a night out, and Hiroshima cannot match it. Minami alone offers the neon of Dotonbori, the standing bars of Ura-Namba and the clubs and DJ bars of Amerikamura, and strangers chat at the counter until the first morning train.

Hiroshima's Nagarekawa is busy and fun to wander, especially after a baseball game, but its best evenings are slow ones: an izakaya, then a tiny counter bar with a few regulars. Clubs are few and the scene is local.

Here the two are close, but the scenery differs. Hiroshima has the sea: the forested islands of the Inland Sea, the ropeway and trails up Mount Misen, Sandankyo Gorge inland and the Shimanami Kaido bridges for a long day on a bike. Even in town, rivers and green hills are always in view.

Osaka itself is flat and built up, so its nature lies out of town, within an hour by train: the waterfall trail at Minoo, ridge walks in the Rokko mountains and gentle wooded hills to the east. It suits day hikers rather than anyone after island views.

Both are good bases, but Osaka is exceptional. Kyoto is under half an hour away, Nara about forty minutes, and Kobe, Himeji, Uji and the monasteries of Koyasan are all easy by frequent trains, enough for a fortnight of days out.

Hiroshima's trips are smaller in scale but full of charm: Miyajima's floating torii, the Kintaikyo bridge at Iwakuni, the temple slopes of Onomichi and the rabbits of Okunoshima. Himeji and Kurashiki are within reach by shinkansen from either city.

Osaka is much the stronger choice with children. Universal Studios Japan, the Kaiyukan aquarium with its whale sharks, the Tempozan Ferris wheel, Tennoji Zoo and the Kids Plaza museum give days of easy entertainment, and stations have lifts and baby rooms.

Hiroshima is safe and pleasant with children but quieter: feeding the deer on Miyajima, the Misen ropeway, Okunoshima's rabbits and an evening at a baseball game. It has no theme park or large aquarium, and the Peace Memorial Museum's graphic material needs a parent's judgement.

Osaka's subway and rail network is the more powerful, with the Midosuji line running through the main districts and one IC card covering trains on to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. Its weak point is Umeda, an underground maze where changing lines can mean a long walk.

Hiroshima is simpler but slower. The flat centre puts the Peace Park, the castle and Hondori within walking distance, and the trams reach Miyajimaguchi, though they crawl at busy times, so JR trains are better for the coast.

Osaka is far stronger for a shopping trip, but Hiroshima has the better crafts to take home. Brushes from the nearby town of Kumano, made for both makeup and calligraphy, and carved wooden rice paddles from Miyajima have no real match in Osaka's arcades, and a bottle of Saijo sake travels well too. Beyond those, the Hondori arcade is good for an afternoon's browsing rather than a whole day.

Osaka has the range. Shinsaibashi-suji runs down towards Namba, the long-established Umeda department stores have luxury floors, Midosuji holds the international flagships, Amerikamura sells vintage clothes and streetwear, and Den Den Town is given over to electronics, anime and games. Its own speciality is practical rather than decorative: a kitchen knife from Sennichimae Doguyasuji.

Costs are much the same in both, and both are reasonable by Japanese standards, with cheap filling food and inexpensive transport. Where the money goes differs. In Hiroshima rooms stay fairly priced year round, and the extras are shinkansen tickets for day trips and pricier inns on Miyajima.

In Osaka the pressure falls on rooms in cherry-blossom and autumn-leaf season and at weekends, plus big tickets such as Universal Studios. Staying a little outside Namba or Umeda eases it.

Osaka has far more to see on stage. It is the home of bunraku puppet theatre, with full seasons and English guides at the National Bunraku Theatre, plus seasonal kabuki, orchestras at Festival Hall and Symphony Hall, manzai comedy in Namba and the Takarazuka Revue within reach.

Hiroshima's distinctive offer is kagura, the masked, drum-driven Shinto dance-drama, with evening shows in the centre staged for visitors. Beyond that it is a regional programme of an orchestra, touring productions and small live houses.

Hiroshima has no hot springs of its own. Still, sento, super-sento and the top-floor baths of many business hotels keep a hot soak within reach, and small spa villages in the hills or by the sea offer a true onsen. Its real strength is pace, with riverside walks, the ponds of Shukkeien and a ryokan night on Miyajima once the day-trippers have gone.

Osaka is the better choice for bathing itself. Old neighbourhood sento are still scattered through its older districts, and big super sento turn an evening into hours of pools, saunas and open-air baths. Arima Onsen in the hills behind Kobe is one of Japan's oldest spa towns, with iron-red springs and traditional inns. The city around all this is fast and loud, though, so calm comes in short spells, such as early morning at Sumiyoshi Taisha.