Locations

Here are the locations that I have traveled so far. Sometimes with family and many times (such as Japan) without. 

I felt that every place has something to see, even though it might not be extravagant, doesn’t mean it can’t be appreciated. 

Of course, traveling is subjective. 

Here are my experiences in various places. 

 

The main locations will be the heading and underneath will be what I experienced in that area. 

 

Bay Area/California

California is a big state. I moved here in the mid 2000s, my kids were born here, I finished my education and my career is here. I’ve always had ties to California via my dad (he grew up in the bay area) and my mom’s side, my cousins in Los Angeles. 

There is a lot in California to do and it is why it is a desirable place to live. 

California

Vancouver BC/Canada

Vancouver BC is like a second home. I used to go there when I was younger and fell in love. When Jasmin’s siblings moved there, there was even more of a reason to go there annually. During the summers, Jacob and Lucas would stay there. There is so much to explore and it is always cool to find new things in BC. 

VANCOUVER BC/ CANADA

 

Japan

JAPAN

I’ve been to Japan many times and I cannot get enough of it. Being a Japanese car enthusiast, this is heaven. While all my trips have been about cars, I made the mistake in my early trips (2001-2006) of not exploring the culture enough. I was only focused on cars and friends, so when I returned subsequently, I made sure it was about culture, history and art.

In 1999, I was surfing Yahoo.co.jp and was looking at websites. Many Japanese were making their own homepages through geocities.co.jp and others. The results of yahoo was different with each region. After I connected with a few people, I eventually made my way to there.

2001-2006 (all car related)

Most of the pictures can be found on the main site since it is all car related. https://www.f31club.com/f31rogers-car-blog/

2016 (car and culture related)

This was my return trip after 10 years. This time, my wife was coming.

Leopardess train experience

2017 ( 3x in Japan)

May 2017 – Wandering Leopard Pilgrimage

This was my trip to criss cross Japan. I’m working on a post that is traveling between the cities and what days. Some of the days were super interesting as I jumped multiple systems to get to one location.

WLP train experience

The list of the days here were short break downs on what I did that day. These are on the main f31club website. Since I made this sub directory for traveling and family, I’ve added more pictures below of the NON Car related stuff.

  1. Sunday – Arrival in Japan and to Takamatsu
  2. Monday – Okayama, Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi and back to Hiroshima
  3. Tuesday – Hiroshima, Osaka and Shiga
  4. Wednesday – Gifu, Nagoya and Sendai
  5. Thursday – Sendai
  6. Friday – Tokyo and Saitama
  7. Sunday – Hakone to 31st Leopard meeting
  8. Monday morning Japan – Leopard cruise to Mishima Skywalk Bridge
  9. Narita airport to Vancouer Airport to San Francisco International airport

August 2017 – Wandering Leopard and cub

This was a 5 day trip was with my son Jacob. Initially it was a joke. We were already in the Philippines and for his birthday, he wanted to see Japan, so we went. Going to Japan is not without meeting my F31 family, so I contacted people to let them know I’ll be there. My focus was Tokyo and Yokohama. I did want to expand out, but since we kept it cool.

WLC train experience

  1. Thursday – Narita Airport, Shinjuku (Godzilla head), Reiyukai Shakaden Hall, Tokyo Tower, Zojo-ji Temple, SL Plaza, and Hakuhinkan Toy Park.
  2. Friday –  Akihabara (Tam Tam, Golden Age Toys, Trader 3, Animate, Mandrake), Shikansen Festival, Ryōgoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Odaiba (Trick Art Museum) and Iidabashi mini meet.
  3. Saturday- Yokohama – Pokemon Festival, Yokohama mini meet and Iidabashi mini meet.
  4. Sunday – 47 Ronin gravesite, Tokyo Dome City, Sunshine City (Pokemon Mega Center), Nakano Broadway, and Akihabara (cars)
  5. Akihabara Night – 8/13/2017

September/October 2017 – Wandering Leopard Saga

This as the final journey in Japan for 2017. This was my 3rd time this year and again, this was gonna be spread out. My last 3 trips have embolden me again to wander Japan and this is what I did.  I wanted to hit places that I tried to do in May, but wasn’t able to do so because of time. Some of the goals I had for this trip also didn’t materialized for a few different reasons.

WLS train experience 2017

  1. Thursday – Arrival to Yokohama and going to Saitama
  2. Friday – Saitama Tuning shops, Enoshima Island, Shinjuku Dinner and Sunrise Seto train
  3. Saturday – Okayama > Kobe > Kyoto > Tokyo > Shizuoka
  4. Sunday – Shizuoka hotel and F31 meeting > Yokohama

2018 – Wandering Leopard Saga continues…

I was back in Japan and it felt good!!! I had some goals and places to check out.

WLS 2018 Train experiece

WL 2019 Trip

WL 2019 Train experience

WL 2020 Trip

WL 2020 train experience

 

Pacific Northwest/Washington

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. My parents live in Olympia. So eventually I would have to make something about the PNW.

2018

ORCA card

 

The main locations will be the heading and underneath will be what I experienced in that area. 

 

EUROPE

When I tell people I was born in Berlin, Germany, it always catches people by surprise. Then people ask, “How long have you lived there”, in which my reply is,”only when I was a baby”.

Europe has too many things to see. Culture, food, history, art… So grouping all these countries into a simple continent isn’t easy, but since I’ve only been to a few places, I can’t expand until I reach more.

Jasmin’s sisters were living in Ireland at the time and she also has family in London, so we were able to visit these places.

 

HAWAII

I don’t even have to tell you. Everyone wants to go to Hawaii. Finally I was able to experience Hawaii in a limited fashion as I was there for a week of training and conference. I did bring my family along and we really had a good time. I only stayed on O’ahu.

O’ahu 2016

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Southern California

I’ve been going to Southern California since I was a kid.. but now I really want to have places I wanted to go and see. 

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