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Getting Lucky with Fukubukuro on New Year’s

You never know what you're going to get from your Fukubukuro.

By GaijinPot Blog Dec 30, 2024 2 min read 5

New Year’s in Japan is a great time to get lucky. With tickets for the Year-end Lottery going on sale and eating auspicious food in the form of osecchi (traditional Japanese New Year foods), any little bit of luck can help for the New Year, right? If you’re hoping to maximize some of the year-end sales by buying fukubukuro or lucky bags from your favorite establishments. Here’s how it started and some of the best deals for this year.

What are Fukubukuro (lucky bags)?

Like many Japanese traditions, no one knows exactly how this one started. Most say it began in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district in the Edo Period when a surplus in kimono fabric prompted a sale. By bagging up extra cloth and selling it for cheap, this practice has evolved into the fukubukuro tradition of today.

Almost all stores sell their own version of fukubukuro (including stores like LoFT and Starbucks), but the really popular ones are the lucky bags sold by big department stores. The bags come in different categories, with some of the contents out on display. Using a combination of different items, these lucky bags contain items that go for way beyond their actual retail price. From ¥3,000 and above, customers can buy as many of these fukubukuro as they want. Take note that returns and exchanges aren’t possible, so that’s when luck comes in.

In recent times, there have been new kinds of fukubukuro to enter the market. Aside from clothing, makeup and food, there are now “experience” based lucky bags.

How do I buy one?

Different brands have their own way of selling the lucky bags.

Depending on the brand you want to buy from, you can reserve online but typically, you would have to wait in front of stores right before they open. From January 2 or January 3, it’s not uncommon to see lines form infront of stores with shoppers eagerly awaiting for their lucky bag. Expect most websites and notices for fukuburo to be exclusively in Japanese so it’s best to have a Japanese speaking friend help you out.