Las Vegas

We booked an English-language tour for July 6th, but it turned out to be a Japanese-language tour. Apparently, the English tour had too few participants, so they combined it with another tour. However, our guide and driver, Mr. Tomo, was incredibly professional. He explained things in both Japanese and English, and his driving and photography skills were top-notch! We departed from our hotel meeting point in Las Vegas at 2 AM. The entrance fee to the US National Parks was collected on the spot. If you have purchased an annual pass for the National Parks, you might need to inquire beforehand. But traveling by bus was so much easier than driving ourselves, especially for those of us who don't have much time for road trips and are afraid to drive abroad. The 1200-kilometer drive was long, but there were rest stops every two hours where we could use the restroom or stretch our legs, so it wasn't too tiring for me. If you can stay awake, watching the night sky change colors before sunrise is a real treat. The return journey also offers different scenic views, and we even got to see the Colorado River one last time before returning to Las Vegas, as the route loops around the Grand Canyon. Some attractions require walking, such as Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon. We arrived at Horseshoe Bend in the morning. It was very sunny and hot, and the journey was a bit long, so we needed to bring water. We arrived at Lower Antelope Canyon before noon, where we could only bring our phones and water. However, we didn't have time to drink water inside the canyon; we were all admiring the scenery, taking photos, and moving around. Be careful of the uneven steps. The Grand Canyon is so magnificent that even when I was there, my photos looked like they were composited into the background. The Grand Canyon's rest center has water fountains with ice-cold water! I must say, the comments from other travelers about how punctual the Japanese tour group was are true. We are very grateful that the members of the Japanese tour group we accidentally joined were also very punctual, ensuring the smooth running of the trip.