Sharing a Car Hobby as a Couple Reading messages on the blog and talking with car enthusiasts, I often hear things like “I envy couples who share a car hobby” or “My wife has absolutely no interest in cars.” The most common comments are along the lines of “My wife doesn’t oppose buying a car, but she’s not really interested in what we get” or “She knows about Porsche but doesn’t really understand its appeal.”...
The Problem of High Automobile Taxes in Japan A while ago, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota and newly appointed chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, publicly stated that “Japan’s automobile taxes are too high, so I want to reduce all car taxes to the level of kei cars.” This statement was widely shared online. “I want to align all car taxes with those of kei cars. Kei cars are almost like public transportation in...
Japan… so hot… Japan’s summer is hot… or rather, the humidity is intense. I returned from the US last weekend, my husband went back to work, and my daughter started kindergarten, so normal life has finally resumed. This will be the last post about our San Francisco and Los Angeles trip. So today, I’d like to share our sightseeing experience in Los Angeles. San Francisco and Los Angeles are about an hour and a half...
Today’s PECLA Article: Part 2 Yesterday, I introduced various facilities inside the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles (PECLA) in an article, →【Reference Article】A Visit to the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles (Part 1) and today is the second part. The PECLA parking lot is filled with many different Porsches, and just looking at them is a joy. There were probably around 150 cars parked, including 911s, Boxsters, Caymans, Macans, and Cayennes (no Panameras though). Many...
At Last, the Long-Awaited Porsche Experience Center LA The day before yesterday, we safely arrived back at Kansai International Airport from San Francisco. I’m so glad the whole family returned home healthy. Traveling overseas with two young kids, aged 4 and 1, was quite the challenge. Or rather, our free-spirited 1-year-old daughter was quite a handful (laughs). I learned that if you’re traveling to long-haul destinations like the US or Europe with small children, it’s...
Booking a Rental Car with AVIS… After staying in San Francisco, we headed to Los Angeles. We considered driving, but even without traffic, it would take about 5 to 6 hours, so we decided to fly, which took about an hour and a half. By the way, the rental car we got in Los Angeles this time was a Mercedes-Benz GLS450. I had reserved it in advance through AVIS in Japan, but when I went...
Let’s Take Photos of Porsches Before coming to San Francisco, I had already decided, “I’m going to take photos of Porsches driving around San Francisco.” So whenever I spotted one, I’d get my camera ready, snap pictures with my iPhone, or ask my husband, “Porsche, Porsche! Please!” to take photos for me. But I quickly realized that photographing Porsches (including those parked) while we were driving was much harder than I expected, haha. Since I...
Heading to the Beautiful Coastal Town of Monterey Today’s story is about San Francisco. From July 28 to August 3, my family and I are traveling around San Francisco and Los Angeles. On the day after we arrived in San Francisco, the 29th, we drove to Monterey, a town known for its beautiful sea. Because the highway was a bit congested, it took about two and a half hours from San Francisco. The kids were...
About the Future Direction of the Blog Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction of this “Welcome Home, PORSCHE” blog. I’ve finally settled on a vision, and now I want to nurture this blog into a helpful resource for everyone considering purchasing a Porsche. …I might be setting my sights a bit high, but actually, the reason I started this blog was because my husband casually said, “If you love the Panamera that...
A Family Trip to San Francisco From July 28 to August 3, we are traveling to San Francisco (+ Los Angeles) in the United States. My husband had work in San Francisco, so the plan was for me and our two daughters to join him as soon as he finished. It’s been about 14 to 15 years since I last went to America as a student… time really flies. Beforehand, my parents were quite worried,...
