Sapporo or Takayama?

Neither city is a beach destination. Sapporo at least has a coast within reach. Plain sand at Ishikari or near Otaru makes a summer afternoon out for a swim in late July and early August.

Takayama is deep in the mountains, about two hours from Toyama Bay, so on a trip there the sea plays no part at all.

Sapporo is one of Japan's great places to eat, and the gap is wide. Hokkaido's seafood and dairy feed seafood bowls at Nijo Market, whole winter crabs, miso ramen, soup curry and jingisukan lamb, with beer halls in the old brick brewery and the food halls on top.

Takayama has a narrower menu built around Hida beef, soy-glazed dango, local ramen and tastings at its old sake breweries. It is a delight for two or three days, but its restaurants close early and the choice soon repeats, where Sapporo could keep you eating well for a week.

On culture, Takayama is the stronger stop, because its history has survived. Sanmachi Suji's dark-timbered merchant lanes, Takayama Jinya, the Kusakabe and Yoshijima houses and the temples along the Higashiyama walking course make the whole old town feel like a museum.

Sapporo is too young for any of that. It offers a Meiji clock tower, the red-brick former government building, the Ainu galleries of the Hokkaido Museum and Moerenuma Park, which is more interesting as a piece of design than as history.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Susukino stacks thousands of tiny bars, karaoke boxes and izakaya floor above floor, and stays busy past midnight even in winter, though the evening is about bar-hopping rather than clubbing.

In Takayama, a beer or sake in one of a handful of small bars near the station is about as far as an evening goes. Most visitors eat at their ryokan and are in bed early.

Both are mountain bases, but Sapporo has the outdoors on its doorstep. Teine and Kokusai offer skiing inside the city limits, Niseko's powder is about two hours away, and Shikotsu-Toya's caldera lake and volcanoes make easy summer trips.

Takayama's scenery is higher and wilder. The Shin-Hotaka ropeway climbs towards 3,000m peaks and Kamikochi has trails beneath the Hotaka range. Reaching them depends on regional buses, though, and Kamikochi closes in winter.

Takayama has slightly the better day trips. Shirakawa-go's UNESCO-listed thatched village is under an hour away by bus, the canal town of Hida-Furukawa is a short train ride, and Gero Onsen is a classic spa outing.

Sapporo's best day out is Otaru's canal and sushi, with the Yoichi whisky distillery on the way. Beyond that, Upopoy and Noboribetsu cover Ainu culture and volcanic hot springs, but most other trips lead to landscape rather than towns.

Sapporo is the more practical base with children for a longer stay. The subway is simple to use, and when snow or rain sets in, the underground walkway from the station to Susukino keeps everyone moving under cover. Asahiyama Zoo makes a day out by train, and in summer the fountains and shallow pool at Moerenuma are a good way to cool off. The catch is January and February, when children need proper winter clothing to cope with the cold.

Takayama is gentler to manage but thinner on things to do. The flat old town begins a short walk from the station, so small legs are rarely tested, and winter brings snow to play in. Most of what there is to see is old houses and craft shops, though, so the town works best as a night or two on a wider route through Japan rather than as a family base.

Sapporo has the fuller system. Three subway lines and a streetcar loop run across a numbered grid, and an underground walkway lets you cross the centre in winter without setting foot on the ice.

Takayama needs less of a system because its whole old town is a short, flat walk from the station. Leaving it is harder: Shirakawa-go and the Alps depend on regional buses that need planning around connections.

Sapporo is better for general shopping. It has department stores and malls above the station, the long covered Tanukikoji arcade, and plenty of edible souvenirs such as Hokkaido chocolate, cheese and dried seafood.

Takayama has almost no fashion, but it is the place for traditional crafts. Look for amber Shunkei lacquerware, yew carvings, bentwood furniture and brewery sake, all things Sapporo cannot match.

Sapporo is a little easier on the budget. Its business hotels are good value, ramen and soup curry are cheap, and many of its parks and landmarks are free to visit. Costs rise with crab dinners and ski passes, and during the Snow Festival week.

In Takayama, everyday eating is cheap, but the things most visitors come for are not: the ryokan night with a full dinner and a proper Hida beef meal both cost a lot. Rooms also become expensive in festival weeks.

Sapporo has an actual performing arts calendar. The Kitara concert hall and its symphony orchestra play there year round, the Pacific Music Festival runs each July, there is a large theatre for touring shows, and Susukino has jazz bars and small live venues.

In Takayama, performance means the spring and autumn festival, with its floats, string-worked karakuri puppets and lantern processions. These are memorable if your dates match, but the rest of the year there is next to nothing.

Both cities do relaxation through hot springs, and they are about equal. In Sapporo, the bathing is a trip out of town, to the river gorge at Jozankei or to Noboribetsu. Back in the city there are wide streets and parks.

Takayama makes slowing down part of the stay itself. Many ryokan pipe spring water into their own baths, so a soak and a yukata evening come with the room, and the riverside pools of Okuhida and Gero Onsen are close by.