Osaka or Takayama?

Neither is a beach destination, but Osaka at least offers a summer swim. In July and August Suma or the beaches towards Wakayama are about an hour away by train and the water is warm, even if the sand is coarse and the setting suburban.

Takayama is deep in the mountains, about two hours from Toyama Bay, so swimming would mean a separate stop on the coast.

For eating, Osaka is far ahead. Its range runs from griddled takoyaki in Dotonbori and grilled scallops at Kuromon Market to the basement food halls of Umeda and the refined kaiseki counters of Kitashinchi, and good value holds across all of it.

Takayama does a few things very well: Hida beef on a magnolia leaf with hoba miso, soy-glazed dango and sake tastings in the old breweries. But the choice is narrow and the town stops serving early, so after a few days the meals start to repeat.

On sights the two are close, but the kind of visit is very different. Osaka has separate landmarks in a modern city: the castle on its original walls, Shitennoji, Sumiyoshi Taisha and stronger museums such as the Museum of Oriental Ceramics and the Nakanoshima art quarter.

Takayama is a complete historic townscape, with intact Edo-period lanes in Sanmachi Suji, the old Jinya government office and the gassho farmhouses of Hida Folk Village. It is better for wandering through the past and weaker for museums.

After dark the gap is very wide. Osaka has the neon of Dotonbori, standing bars in Ura-Namba, small clubs and DJ bars in Amerikamura and tiny bars around Ohatsutenjin, and many people stay out until the first morning train.

In Takayama, most visitors eat dinner at their ryokan and the old town is quiet by nightfall. There are a few izakaya near the station for a sake after dinner and nothing much after eleven.

Takayama is the town for the mountains. Within about an hour and a half by bus you can be on Kamikochi's flat trails beneath the Hotaka range, riding the Shin-Hotaka ropeway or walking high on Norikura, and winter brings snow and skiing.

Osaka itself is flat concrete. Its outdoors means day walks to the Minoo waterfall, the Rokko ridges above Kobe or the wooded slopes of Mount Ikoma, which are pleasant but have no high country.

As a base, Osaka is far ahead. Kyoto and Nara are both well under an hour by train, and Himeji Castle, Kobe and the temple mountain of Koyasan are easy too, so each day can be a different kind of outing from the same hotel. Trains run often and need little planning, which makes it simple to decide each morning where to go.

Takayama has one outing that people travel for: Shirakawa-go, the village of steep thatched farmhouses about fifty minutes away by bus. The canal town of Hida-Furukawa makes a shorter extra. After that the choice gives way to mountain country, so Takayama's day trips are used up within a few days, while Osaka's list runs on well beyond most itineraries.

Osaka is much easier with children. Universal Studios Japan, the whale sharks at Kaiyukan, the Tempozan Ferris wheel, Tennoji Zoo and the Expo '70 park fill days without effort, and stations have lifts and baby rooms.

Takayama is safe and compact, and children like the market snacks, the folk village and winter snow. With nothing built for them, though, a day or two is usually enough.

Osaka has a full urban network: the Midosuji line, the JR loop and one IC card that also works on trains to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. Its one real trial is the long underground walk between lines at Umeda.

Takayama needs no network to speak of. The old town is a short walk from the station, but trips into the mountains depend on regional buses that have to be planned around and can fill up in busy seasons.

Osaka is far stronger for general shopping. It has the long Shinsaibashi-suji arcade, generations-old department stores in Umeda, flagship stores on Midosuji, Den Den Town for electronics and anime, and kitchen knives on Doguyasuji.

Takayama has no fashion or department stores, but it beats Osaka on traditional craft. Its amber Shunkei lacquer, yew carvings and Hida bentwood furniture are the kind of objects Osaka is thin on.

Osaka is somewhat easier on a budget, mainly because cheap, good food is everywhere and transport costs little. Rooms and Universal Studios are the costly parts.

Takayama's everyday costs are moderate too, but what people come for adds up: a ryokan night with a full dinner, a proper Hida beef meal and rooms in festival weeks.

Osaka has a real stage life. Bunraku puppet theatre has its national home in Nippombashi with English guides, Festival Hall and Symphony Hall host orchestras, and manzai comedy, live houses and the nearby Takarazuka Revue add more.

Takayama's performance comes almost entirely from its spring and autumn festivals, with karakuri puppets on the floats and lantern-lit processions. Outside those days there is little to see.

Takayama is the better place to slow down. Many ryokan have their own spring-fed baths, the town goes to bed early, and the riverside open-air pools of Okuhida and the spa town of Gero are both within an hour.

Osaka has its own bathing culture in neighbourhood sento and large super sento, and Arima Onsen is an hour away. The city around them stays fast and noisy, so a soak there is a break in the day rather than the rhythm of the stay.