We had bombed the crap out of Japanese cities prior to dropping the nukes. 100K died in Tokyo from one bombing run with incindiaries.
Yes, we devastated nearly all of the 50 or so largest Japanese cities with “conventional” bombing before we did the 2 atomic bomb strikes. In face, we barely had adequate urban targets left to show the Japanese military and govt the power of the atomic bombs, yet Japan still would not surrender until after Nagasaki. But there was little capability for bombing Japan until 1944-45.