Start a Japanese Restaurant in Asuncion, Paraguay

(This is a crowdfunding to help Miki (elder) and Kazumi to start a Japanese restaurant in Paraguay. They have a dream of popularizing Japanese food, which is usually treated as luxury food in Paraguay. As a first step, they are preparing to open a first store in Asuncion, capital of Paraguay. The initial funding is estimated to be about 28,000USD, but we are looking to raise 10,000USD by crowdfunding method.)

▼ Self-Introduction of Miki & Kazumi

We were born in Osaka Japan and have lived recently in Oita prefecture. Our father, after retirement as a precision machinist in Osaka, went to Paraguay with a dream to help a developing country. However, our father passed away in Paraguay in 2018 due to a heart attack. We decided to move to Paraguay in 2022 in order to continue in our father's footsteps.

(Photo above: This is our stand where we started to sell makizushi in a central park in Asuncion since October of 2022)

▼ Paraguay and its potential

Some people may not know where Paraguay is located. It is a small country located in the middle of South America, with a population of approximately 6.7 million people. Their greatest exports are agricultural and meat products, as well as electricity from its hydro plants. Paraguayans are known to be very friendly towards outsiders Paraguay is an economically developed country with an average GDP growth rate of 5% over the past 20 years. In recent years, large shopping malls have sprung up, and urbanization has progressed with a rush to construct new roads and bridges. The new city center is also under development, and the future possibilities are endless.

▼ Why we started this Project

After moving to Paraguay, where our father spent his later years, we realized the importance of food while thinking about how to live here. Through living there, I became acutely aware that the Japanese food that we had always prepared and ate was a foreign culture that was rare in other countries, and that compared to the Paraguayan diet that is biased toward meat and cassava, it was exceptionally delicious and healthy. However, Japanese food is very expensive and out of reach for the common population. Maybe we can make Japanese food affordable and more common as the nation develops! This thought is what led us to launch this project.

(Photo above: Paraguayans eat a lot of meat!)

(Photo above: One meal at an existing Japanese restaurant costs about 15USD, which is about a single day's pay for an average worker in Paraguay.)

Unfortunately, although all of the existing Japanese restaurants are popular, the current situation is that they are very expensive and difficult for the average Paraguayan to go out to eat at. (Average monthly income in Paraguay is approximately 300USD.) First of all, we aim to open a store in a cheap property in the old city area, thereby keeping the rent low and creating a store where you can enjoy Japanese food at the lowest possible price. We strive to keep our prices low by making sauces and other items by hand using cheap local ingredients and purchasing ingredients from wholesalers. We want to make Japanese food more popular in Paraguay. In addition, healthy Japanese food should be able to contribute to improving the health of Paraguayan people, who have a high rate of obesity.

(Photo above: sushi dish at a popular mall in Asuncion costs about 30USD, 10% of an average worker's monthly salary.)

▼Current situation

In Paraguay, the delivery business has been thriving since the coronavirus outbreak. Also, with the proliferation of inexpensive smartphones, everyone is using SNS.

We are currently advertising on SNS and selling delivery products as well as selling packaged meals at a flea market in Asuncion. On a good day, we can earn up to about 70USD a day. We believe that we can expect greater profits just by opening a store in a fixed location.

We hope to rent and open a restaurant in a fixed location in downtown Asuncion, so that we can have a greater and stable income.

▼ Basic Menu examples

(Photo above: The SNS image we already use to advertise 8 pieces of sushi at about 3 US dollars w/o delivery fee)

(Photo above: We are also selling Yakisoba)

(Photo above: Oita-style fried chicken)

(Photo above: Traditional cucumber pickles)

(Photo above: Asari miso soup)

(Photo above: Traditional tea)

(Photo above: We plan to use decorative tea filters for other types of teas)

▼ Layout for the Restaurant

We still have not decided on the location of the restaurant. However, we are considering to rent a space of about 500 sq. feet in downtown Asuncion. We hope to create a simple and clean layout with small Japanese items decorating the walls.

▼ Logo

We created a logo with our father as the image character. According to his friends and co-workers in Paraguay, although the culture and language are very different, our father can communicate with them and became great friends. Cooking for his friends and co-workers was one of his ways to communicate in Paraguay.