Fukubukuro: The Japanese Lucky Bag Tradition We’re Bringing To You In-Store

This New Year’s Day, we’re excited to continue our annual Fukubukuro tradition! Meaning “lucky bag”, the Japanese custom occurs every January in which merchants offer surprise gift bundles as a symbol of good fortune. 

Curious to find out where the Fukubukuro tradition during Japanese New Year originated? Read on to learn more!

History of Fukubukuro Lucky Bags

Fukubukuro, which translates to “lucky bag” or “fortune bag,” is a beloved Japanese tradition that dates back to Tokyo in the Edo period (1603-1867). The story goes that merchants were looking for creative ways to clean out extra inventory. One merchant came up with the idea of packaging mystery assortments into sealed bags and selling them at a deep discount. The trend caught on and evolved into something more meaningful—the element of surprise and good fortune at the start of a new year. 

How Fukubukuro Started in Japan For New Year

In Japan, the new year is an important holiday of the year—signaling a new beginning, new hope and the promise of fortune to come. Fukubukuro has become synonymous as a tradition for the New Year and today it’s one of the biggest shopping events. In Japan and around the world, customers can be seen lining up before doors open to snag products from their favorite stores at a fraction of the retail price. 

Because all Japanese lucky bags are sealed, you don’t know what’s inside until you open it. That’s part of the fun and excitement! 

What’s Inside a Fukubukuro bag?

It’s all up to the store! No matter what’s inside, you’re usually guaranteed that the cost of the bag is a significant discount from the retail price. At ALOHA Collection, it’s become an annual tradition to participate in Fukubukuro and offer mystery bags in-store at our Ala Moana location every January. ALOHA Collection’s grab bags offer the chance to get a bundle at a great deal—50% OFF retail value! 

We curate our lucky bags to bring you the excitement of surprise and delight. Each bag contains a bundle of our products—from special edition prints to rare colorways in our original Splash-Proof® travel bag designs—at a discounted cost that embodies the generous spirit of Fukubukuro. Whether you’re treating yourself or gifting a lucky bag to someone special, we hope you love what’s inside as much as we do. 

Learn more about our next Fukubukuro lucky bag event on our Events Page.