“My customers are very few“

When I first started Kakigori in 2016, I had very few customers.

No one knew what Kakigori. Sales were negative on most days. I even offered it for free.

"It's nothing like the shaved ice you know. This delicacy is magical."

The more I tried to convey the message, the more impatient and frustrated I became, but at the same time, I consoled myself with the fact that it was just like this.

I had never run a restaurant business before. I didn't[still dont] know anything about marketing or branding. What all I was confident was that the Kakigori was super delicious and special.

The following is a message from my friend Masa Nishikawa, who travels by bicycle while serving free coffee, is the one I want to keep conveying to myself at that time,and when I feel anxious about what to do in the business.

I was reminded of Banana Yoshimoto's novel "The lid of the sea" and decided to start shaved ice.

I wanted a shaved ice machine made of iron, not plastic, so I went to the trouble of finding an old one on Mercari, and it arrived yesterday evening. I really wanted to start today, so I went out last night to buy a bowl to make ice. That's how excited I was. I was so excited because my dream would come true and I wanted to see someone's happy face.

Today was the day I arrived at the store after advertising "Shaved Ice! Today was the first day of the event”

Then…… there were only three customers. My grandma, Miki, and Tao, who always come in the morning. My family includes my sister and my mother. So, five people in total.

When I first started my free coffee journey, I wanted to reach as many people as possible! And I had to earn money so that I could continue my journey! So I chose places where there were a lots of traffic.

However, after a while, I became convinced that I could make a living every day by offering free coffee regardless of the number of people. Then I made a decision for myself.

"It's very simple: "Make a cup of coffee from the heart, even if it's just for one person.

I am aware that what I am doing now is difficult to understand.

However, I don't try to "explain" what I'm doing by attaching social or advanced ideas to it. I don't think I'm doing anything new.

It's like a mother making lunch for her children to see them happy,or a child makes a meal to make her family happy.

That's how I want to make my coffee. That's all.

A regular customer, my grandmother, said to me, "I was visiting the grave.and I was so tired from visiting the grave, so it was nice to have shaved ice today”.

Miki-chan also said "This is the first time for Tao to make his own shaved ice! She is lucky! “

Those comments and the smile she gave me when I told her…All of them are invaluable to me. It's something I'm glad I did.

That's the best reward for me. You could say it's the power of life.

To put it another way, this is the way I can show my best performance.

There were five people in the audience today.

But I did all I could do today.

Will I be able to live with this? Will I be able to continue?

I don't know about that. I'm just going to keep doing what I can do.

I'll be doing shaved ice again tomorrow. I have a few more days to focus on this before my trip.

If you want to come, please do. I'll be waiting for you with delicious shaved ice and coffee.