You list everything to do before opening, and paperwork, works, sourcing and promotion fill more than one sheet. Handing it all to contractors and professionals would be easy, but you don’t have the money. You want to know, in one place, what you can do yourself and what you have to give to someone else. It’s something we hear often from people preparing to open.
What you can do yourself when opening is any work for which the law sets no qualification or designated contractor, plus the notices and applications you can file in person. You can file the business licence application, the fire department notice, the notice of commencement of business and a loan application yourself. Someone at the restaurant must hold the food hygiene manager qualification and, depending on size, the fire prevention manager qualification. Electrical, gas, water, drainage and fire safety equipment work goes to qualified people.
In this article, Tenpos Kawaguchi Interior Materials (Kawaguchi, Saitama; 1,254 m²) uses guidance from Kawaguchi City’s public health centre and fire department, the National Tax Agency and others to set out what you can do yourself and what needs a qualification or professional, split into paperwork, works, sourcing and promotion.
Quick guide: what to do yourself and what to hand over
Sorting the tasks for opening by whether you can do them yourself or need a qualification or professional gives the following. Even for tasks you can do yourself, you can still hire a professional if you are short of time or unsure.
| Area | Task | Can you do it yourself? | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperwork | Drawing consultation with the public health centre; business licence application | Yes | Take the floor plan and other documents to the counter. Consult before works start |
| Paperwork | Notice of start of use of the premises to the fire department | Yes | Attach drawings to scale. At least 7 days before you start using the premises (in Kawaguchi) |
| Paperwork | Notice of commencement of business to the tax office (sole proprietors) | Yes | By the tax return deadline for the year the business started |
| Paperwork | Startup loan application | Yes | Quotes are needed when applying for capital costs |
| Qualification | Food hygiene manager | Someone at the restaurant must hold it | Without a qualification such as cook or dietitian, attend a training course |
| Qualification | Fire prevention manager | Someone at the restaurant must hold it (capacity of 30 or more) | Qualify by attending a course or similar, then notify the fire department of the appointment |
| Works | Painting walls and ceilings, putting up shelves, assembling furniture | Yes | Wall and ceiling finishes may fall under the interior finish restrictions of the Building Standards Act |
| Works | Electrical, gas, water, drainage and fire safety equipment work | No | Hire qualified people or designated contractors |
| Sourcing | Choosing dining-room chairs, tables, lighting and tableware | Yes | With used items, first check you can get enough of the same model |
| Sourcing | Choosing kitchen equipment | You can choose it | Installation and connection to power, gas, water and drainage go to qualified people |
| Sourcing | Outdoor signage | You can design it | Depending on location and size, a municipal permit may be needed. Have a contractor install anything mounted high up |
| Promotion | Social media, listings on map apps and restaurant guides, flyers | Yes | Publish once the opening date is fixed |
* Deadlines and required documents use Kawaguchi City’s guidance as an example. They vary by municipality, so check with the offices where your restaurant is.
Can you file the paperwork yourself?
Most of the paperwork for opening can be filed by you in person or online. You can hire a professional such as an administrative scrivener to handle it, but there is no rule that you must.
According to Kawaguchi’s public health centre, you take the floor plan and other documents for a drawing consultation before works start, then apply for the business licence at the counter at least two weeks before you start trading. The required documents include the application form, a floor plan showing the structure and equipment of the premises, and proof of food hygiene manager qualification.
According to Kawaguchi’s fire department, the notice of start of use of the premises is submitted at least seven days before you start using them, with drawings to scale attached. According to the National Tax Agency, a sole proprietor’s notice of commencement of business is due by the tax return deadline for the year in which the business started.
Sources: Kawaguchi City, “Business licence application process”; Kawaguchi City, “Documents required for a new business licence application”; Kawaguchi City, “Application forms (fire prevention ordinance)”; National Tax Agency, “Notice of commencement or cessation of a sole proprietorship” (all Japanese; checked 4 November 2026)
Which qualifications must someone at the restaurant hold?
The qualifications that you (or someone at the restaurant) must hold to open are the food hygiene manager and, depending on the restaurant’s size, the fire prevention manager. Unlike trade licences for building work, both can be obtained by the owner, for example by attending a course.
Food hygiene manager
Each restaurant must appoint a food hygiene manager. Under the Enforcement Regulations of the Food Sanitation Act, a food hygiene manager must hold a qualification such as cook, confectionery hygienist, dietitian or registered dietitian, or have completed a training course run or approved by the prefectural governor or equivalent. In Kawaguchi, proof of qualification is submitted with the business licence application, so get it before you apply.
Fire prevention manager
Under the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act, a restaurant with a capacity (the number of people who enter or work there) of 30 or more must appoint a fire prevention manager. The fire prevention manager is chosen from people who have qualified, for example by attending a course, and the appointment is notified to the fire department. If your seats plus staff come close to 30, check with the fire department how capacity is counted while you are settling the layout.
Sources: Enforcement Regulations of the Food Sanitation Act, Appended Table 17; Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act, Article 1-2 (e-Gov law search, Japanese; checked 4 November 2026)
How much of the works can you do yourself?
The works you can do yourself are tasks for which the law sets no qualification, such as painting walls and ceilings, putting up shelves and assembling furniture. Electrical, gas, water, drainage and fire safety equipment work can’t be done yourself, because the law sets qualifications or designated contractors for it.
A table of who may do each type of work and the relevant laws, and the order of DIY and craftsman tasks, are covered in “How to combine DIY with licensed trades”. Once you have settled the scope of works, put the quotes for the stages you will give to craftsmen and the cost of DIY materials into your finance plan.
What can you do yourself in sourcing and promotion?
Sourcing and promotion are areas where your own judgement and effort can keep costs down. Choosing things yourself rather than through a contractor also lets you check the look and quality with your own eyes.
- Dining-room furniture: Chairs, tables, lighting and doors can be bought used after checking the actual piece. First check that you can get enough of the same model.
- Kitchen equipment: You can choose the equipment yourself, but connecting it to gas, water, drainage and power goes to qualified people, so before choosing, compare the unit’s electrical and gas capacity with what the equipment needs.
- Tableware and small items: Buy dishes, trays, menu stands and the like in quantity once your concept and menu are settled.
- Listing your restaurant: You can set up social media accounts and list the restaurant on map apps and restaurant guides yourself. Publish opening hours and the opening date once they are fixed.
The more you do yourself, the more of your own time opening will take. Build your own tasks into the schedule so they don’t clash with the licence application or the works. How to put that schedule together is covered in “How do you get from lease to opening day?”.
Start by printing the quick guide and marking each task for your restaurant as something you’ll do yourself or hand over. Once you know what to hand over, you’ll see who to ask, by when, and what it will cost.
How we can help you do more yourself
Tenpos Kawaguchi Interior Materials helps owners open by cutting purchase costs with used materials, doing what they can themselves, and bringing in licensed tradespeople only for the work that needs them.
- Choose your dining-room furniture yourself: On a single 1,254 m² floor, you can see and handle chairs, tables, lighting, doors, flooring and reclaimed timber. Everything on the shop floor has been inspected, cleaned and repaired in our own workshop.
- Transport it yourself: Trucks up to 4 tonnes can load on site. For anything you can’t take, we deliver anywhere in Japan from the store (large items and some locations by arrangement).
- Hand over only the licensed work: We introduce craftsmen only for licensed work such as electrical, gas, water and drainage (no introduction fee for clients, free quotes, and you contract and pay the craftsman directly).
- Plan your own layout: Create a 3D floor plan with our staff in store, free of charge (by appointment; viewed on our in-store screen, and not an official drawing for health centre applications or similar).
Tenpos Kawaguchi Interior Materials
3-32-24 Sakashita-cho, Kawaguchi, Saitama / Open 10:00–19:00 every day (closed over the New Year holidays)
Tel +81-48-285-2027 / Parking available (trucks up to 4 tonnes, loading on site) / Payment: cash, card or PayPay
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