Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Fukubukuro

The new year in the UK usually brings the highly anticipated January sales, where retailers drop the prices of their extra stock they acquired over Christmas. In Japan, things are a little different. While they still have clearance sales, they offer customers something called "Fukubukuro" which are essentially, lucky bags. The term is formed from Japanese fuku (福, good fortune) and fukuro (袋, bag)

Fukubukuro were introduced during the Meji era (Late 19th century) and have become a Japanese tradition ever since. They can range drastically in price depending on the retailer. While the contents are hidden, it's usually understood that the goodies inside are worth more than the sale price. 

There were reports this year that one store was offering a one-week visit to Brazil during the soccer World Cup! While Apple, not to be out done, were shipping their fukubukuro with iPads, iPods and iPhones. On the other end of the scale, some stores even advertise "utsubukuro" which are "depressing bags" sold for low prices, usually between  ¥500 - ¥1,000

If the UK offered a similar concept, would you buy one? What would you like to find inside your fukubukuro? Do you live in Japan, and bought one for yourself? If so, what did you find? Please leave a comment below!

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