Japan's New Year Lucky Bag or Fukubukuro - Tokyu Hands 2016 Edition

In Japan, stores come out with a Fukubukuro or Lucky Bag to celebrate the New Year. Sorry, that's the calendar New Year, and not the Lunar New Year, so you have to actually wait until 2017 to get yours.

Different stores come up with their own version of the Fukubukuro or Lucky Bag as a way to get rid of their excess inventory from the previous year. The Fukubukuro is normally sold at a flat rate, you have no idea what you're buying, but the value of the items inside are worth much more than what you pay for it.

Last Year, I thought it was Chinese New Year they referred to because I saw a review of the Starbucks Fukubukuro and I asked my friend to get me one but it was all sold out. This year, my parents celebrated New Year's Day in Japan, so again I asked them to buy me a Starbucks one. Seems like the Starbucks bag is very popular because it gets sold out on the same day.

Since my mom thought I wanted any Fukubukuro, she bought me a Godiva one, or a Tokyu Hands one to choose from. We know that the answer is obvious right?

Sofia had her own stash of goodies from the grandparents, but she was very
keen to share my Tokyu Hands Stash. 

The Tokyu Hands Fukubukuro is ¥3,000.

This was everything that was included in the bag.

I was very intrigued by some of the stuff I got, since I've never seen them before, but it's definitely a classic case of you didn't know you needed or wanted one until you realize what it does.

Since this is a review, a decided to group the items by actual price to see the real value of the lucky bag.

These are everything was around ¥1,000 or more.
With these items alone, you already get your money's worth.

I'm sure the next question is, even if you got your money's worth, do you even want these items?

Uhmmm YEAH!!! I never knew they had a salad shaker, and it comes with
and Ice Pack too. Sof immediately grabbed the insulated bottle holder,
and chopsticks always come in handy (slightly cheaper).

I didn't know what this was at first! Then I realized it was
a pencil case for your notebook, so you won't forget to
carry your essentials to your meetings. 

I started using it the next day.
It comes with an adjustable strap too.

Since we already did the math and got our ROI, everything else is a bonus. Hahaha. So here are the other things in the lucky bag.

These were the items in the around ¥500 range.

These were the items in the around ¥300 range.

Sof and I are still fighting over the mini envelope notes - through Math Duel
but I love the cute To Do List and have already started using them for work.

I guess the key to a happy Fukubukuro experience is to buy them from shops where you love the whole assortment. Like Starbucks or Tokyu Hands. The reason I passed on the Godiva lucky bag is because I only like dark chocolates, so I didn't want to get a random selection, no matter how good the other chocolates were. Anyway, don't forget to head to Japan for the New Year if you want to grab your own lucky bag. Here's to a lucky new year. just saying.