Hiroshima is a beautiful relaxing city of some million people located on the delta of the Ota river With beautiful gardens and ringed by mountains it has a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.

However the name, meaning wide island, will forever be linked with one of the most destructive acts of man, when the first atomic bomb used in anger, detonated 600m above the city centre.

The bomb came out of a bright clear sky one August morning, as World War II was grinding to its conclusion. Japan was being heavily bombed in preparation for an expected allied invasion and school children were employed clearing buildings to make fire lanes in the city, meaning many were caught in the open when the destruction came.

The destruction was immense, and well documented in peace museum, which stands in a leafy park just south of the bomb site. The visit is difficult, but vital to understand the suffering and pain that went here. The exhibits are evocative, and show the routines of daily life, cut short that sunny morning. The twisted metal of the lunch box, its contents turned to carbon. The ragged school uniforms, scorched white with the heat. The child's tricycle, now a rusting wreck.

The steps from the local bank are on show. That morning there had been a human being full of life and hope, sitting on the step. The next the life was just a memory, a shadow left on a step being the only remnant of a life cut short.

Over 140,000 died as a result of the bombing. But The pain and the suffering are testament to the horrors of war of any scale.

After a couple of damp days in Kyoto, the sun came out for my trip down to Nara.

Nara was the capital before Kyoto, so we are talking about 1500 years ago. It is certainly much more compact than its big neighbour and chock full of temples. It houses the biggest wooden building in the world, built in the 1700 to house a gigantic Buddha, He still sits there, presiding over the hoards that come to pay homage. Amazingly the building used to be bigger, but was reduced in a round of 18th Century austerity cuts.

Paid my 150 Yen to walk up the mountain. It was a steep climb, but the view over the plains made it well worth the climb. There was a group of Japanese walkers out for a ramble, Nice to see the outfit of the walker is universal.

Now in the metropolis of Osaka. The hotel is very bizarre as all the rooms have steel doors. Makes it feel like you are staying in a prison cell. When you open the bathroom door the toilet seat rises automatically as if to say hi, how can I help you? Flushing the thing however, requires a degree from Nasa.

Ambled along to the station to catch the Shinkansen, better known as the Bullet train.

The train propels you rapidly between cities and is certainly impressive. Watching the train arrive was like watching a precision drill, so organised was the reception and so quick the turnaround. As it arrived it was greated by a team of bright blue engineers and bright pink cleaners. Within 15 minutes the train had disgorged its passengers and been occupied by the cleaning team. Each carriage had been totally cleaned. the seats all reversed and all set fair for the new trip ahead.

The route takes you across the plains with the magnificent Mount Fuji towering above, down towards the old city of Kyoto. Last time I came here was for the World Earth summit in 1997, and to be honest I can't remember much. I think most of that trip was spent in a press room at the convention centre.

This time I had time to wander the streets, exploring temples and taking in the glorious autumn colours. Several people had the same plan and the path of reflection was very crowded. Not much time for reflecting if you didn't want to bump into somebody.

Took in the sights of Tokyo starting with the national museum.  It's full of aincent and colurful objects, and that was just the curators. There was a touring exhibition of Sian warriors from China. Been there done that.

The area the museum is located in survived the various earthquakes and bombing in WWII so the layour is pretty much unchanged. Quite a contrast walking the twisting lanes after the long straight avenues in the city. Came upon an old graveyard full of families visititng the relitives.

Took the shuttle over the Tokyo harbour Islands, now redevoloped as a major tourist attraction. There is a lot to see. The port musesm is on the twentieth floor and give a dynamic view over the whole container port. Quite amazing how it all works.

The arrival lived up to the efficiency and politeness the Japanese are famed for, and, once the immigration officer could read my writing in the immigration form, was soon speeding into the city on the express train. The ticket machines are like some sort of Krypton Factor test, and your reward, when successful, is a seat as your are rushed into the capital

Arrived at the central station, certainly a hive of activity. Hotel was near enough to walk, even if I did start off in the wrong direction. Must have a bit of my mother in me.

Once checked in went for a walk around the Imperial Palace. I do mean a walk around. You can't go in as the Emperor still lives there. It is a very long loop round, but very beautiful. First impressions of Tokyo are of what a lot of space there is. I guess I was expecting jam packed streets clogged with traffic. What we have is wide avenues, and parks full of autumnal trees gently shedding leaves.