Every New Year’s, people across Japan flock to stores for special bargains, and in particular, the “Lucky Bags” known as fukubukuro. From electronics and chocolate shops to up-scale department stores, Japanese shops and businesses of all kinds come up with original Lucky Bags at the beginning of each year to tempt those of us out for some new year’s shopping. Now, these bags are supposed to offer good value, containing products worth more than the price you pay for the bag. Well, the bags may be a good value, but the catch is that you can’t choose what you get in your bag, and each year there ends up being much online discussion on whether the Lucky Bags from different shops are a particularly good or bad deal.
Not to miss out on the action, the team at the Japanese RocketNews24 site has also joined the Lucky Bag rush, and as we’ve already started reporting, we’ve taken a look at the contents of quite a few of the bags being sold this year. And one of them happens to be a bag from none other than … Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan. Let’s see what “finger-lickin’ good” items were included in their Lucky Bag for 2015!
The Lucky Bag we purchased from KFC this year was priced at 2,000 yen (US$16.64). So, what did we get for a little under $20?
▼Here’s the bag on sale at the KFC shop we went to. There were only five bags left when we got there! 
▼And this is what the bag contained: four tickets for two chicken pieces, a discount coupon pass and a bottle of their honey maple syrup.
▼The four tickets alone are worth 1,920 yen ($16), and they came in a pretty bag illustrated with motifs associated with New Year’s in Japan.
▼And this honey maple syrup should be a welcome item for fans of KFC’s popular biscuits. Now you won’t have to go to a KFC shop to have their delightfully sweet syrup. It’s sure to go well with the pancakes or toast you have at home!
▼And the bag the goods came in was actually quite nice. It’s a good size, and the KFC logo is unobtrusive enough that it looks simple and stylish overall. 
▼It may look like a regular bag from the outside, but it’s actually thermally insulated, so it will come in handy for carrying food for picnics or outdoor barbecues.
So, what did we think of KFC’s 2015 Lucky Bag? You get most of your purchase price’s worth from the tickets alone, and the coupon pass can be used as many times as you like for a limited time, so we guess it’s not a bad deal, but to be honest, we also didn’t feel like it was a great deal either, at least not something that would make us jump up and down with joy.
That said, you would probably be getting at least your money’s worth of products, and if you like their syrup or if you like the look of the bag, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be more than happy with this year’s KFC Lucky Bag. Here’s wishing you a wonderful year ahead, regardless of what your Lucky Bag contains!
Original article by: P.K. Sanjun
Top image: Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan website
Inset photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]