GoJapan 2023 (Louwman’s Toyota World)

Louwman’s Toyota World, Raamsdonksveer, The Netherlands: With a twenty-degree forecast without rain, all petrolheads found their way to Louwman’s Toyota World. The temperature in the early morning was cold, but as soon as the temperatures started to rise, so did the car enthusiasts. Seven thousand visitors (7500 in total) and over two thousand cars (over twenty car clubs) paid Toyota World a visit for some good old-fashioned get-together, Rev Battles, merchandise sales, and best-of-show contests.

Text Benjamin Wefer
Pictures Benjamin Wefer/Luisa Burgers

Go Japan has grown over the last few years from a try-out to a well-visited car show at this one-of-a-kind location. Once again, ‘Louwman’s Toyota World’ was transformed into car heaven. The parking lot was filled with Japanese cars, from the oldest ones (like a 1976 Datsun 280Z) to the newest (like a 2018 Honda NSX or Nissan GTR). One of the eye-catchers on the paddock was this 1996 Nissan S14A, owned by Amber van Gooswilligen. This S14 has 18″ Rota GTR-D rims, an Origin Labo (Origin Lab Company) body kit, and a Vertex bumper. The car is wrapped in a beautiful pink color (Wild Heather). It took Amber 5 years to get it to the current state, and as she mentioned: “it’s still a work in progress”!

And, of course, Toyota World opened its doors to visitors, exhibited its unique car collection, and took the visitors down memory lane. One of the museum’s jewels is the Lexus LFA with serial number 001. This car keeps amazing you, no matter how many times you see it (Lexus produced only 500 of this race monster).

The main stage was the place to be for the petrolhead looking for some ear testing. Entertainer Stephan de Jong hosted the traditional rev battles. There were three rev sessions, where competitors had fifteen seconds to let their engines roar as hard as possible. Stephan kept the crowd informed with some information on the owner and car. The winner of the first session is Marcelino Iskander in his 2000 Honda Civic EJ9. Jake Cooper won the second session in his 1996 Honda Del Sol. Both left the crowd deaf but screaming for more. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hear who won the third session (something with a weird tone in our ears).


Marcelino Iskander	Jake Cooper

And what is a car show without the Best of Shine contest? This time, competitors could have signed themself up for three categories: Best of Show, Best of Classics, and Best of Shine Engine. Entertainer Stephan had to chat with the owner and informed the crowd more about their build and history with the cars. Rodney Tromp from the island of Aruba won the best of Engine with his Toyota Starlet. Patrick Loonstra came in second, and third place was for Irene with her Suzuki Swift.


Rodney Tromp	Patrick Loonstra

Ramon Vos won in the Best of Shine Classics categories with his 1996 Nissan Cima. Sven won second place with his Honda Acty, and Sebastiaan Thoolen came in Third with his Toyota Supra with a Top Secret Super G-Force Widebody kit by Smokey Nagata.


Ramon Vos	Sebastiaan Thoolen

Jochem Harteveld is the absolute winner of Best of Show in his Toyota MR-2. Second place is for Wesley Muije, and Eric came in third in his Toyota GT86.


Jochem Harteveld

Wesley Muije	Eric

As icing on the cake, the GTR-Madness! In the afternoon, local Influencers GTR Leslie & GTR Rico arrived at Louwman’s Toyota World, together with fifteen other Nissan GTRs, turning the main stage into a GTR festival.

The fourth edition of Go Japan is a fact! The unique location (where modern and history meet each other) and excellent weather conditions contributed to a successful car show, where there was a queue from the location doors all the way to the highway. With cars and spectators from neighboring countries (Belgium, and Germany), the 4th edition was a success. We from The Chronicles of Boost want to pay some attention to car owners from the ABC island in the Dutch Caribbean. Check out the table below and the photo gallery!