
It’s not déjà vu, Mr. Sato; it’s just luck.
Every year of New Year’s “lucky bags,” or fukubukuro, brings a rollercoaster of ups and downs to the SoraNews24 team. We try to test out new ones every year, but we also find ourselves repeat customers of some shops (even if it’s disappointing).
Mr. Sato got relatively fortunate last year with a household electronics lucky bag from a shop in Akihabara called Tokka Bazaar, which only cost him 5,000 yen (45.79). He got a smart music lamp, a foot warmer, a calculator, an electric razor, and more!
▼ That’s worth well over 5,000 yen, especially if you’ve been dying to have some of this stuff.
This year, Mr. Sato decided to up the ante and buy a lucky bag worth 10,000 yen. He was pretty pleased with last year’s results, so he thought it was worth it.
Mr. Sato said he even checked to see if there was one worth 50,000 yen, but he was out of luck in that department. That may or may not have saved his wallet.
Well, aren’t you dying to see what’s inside? Mr. Sato was. He wasted no time in opening it, and his eye was immediately captivated by the large box inside. “This has to be good,” he thought. It could even be a laptop!
But when he excitedly took it out of the bag..
…
…
(ellipses intensify)
…
…
It was another foot warmer!
“It’s you again!?” Mr. Sato thought. After trusting the shop enough to double his paying price from last year, he felt betrayed.
Luckily, one of our writers was there to find the silver lining.
▼ “Look, they’re different colors!”
Oh well, time to move on. The bag also contained some other items of value, including this hair straightener.
The rest of the items weren’t that appealing; there was an FM transmitter for your car, but everything else was kind of random.
You probably don’t need this egg tray…
“I really don’t need this Moomin cup…” Mr. Sato thought.
Mr. Sato was out of luck this year, but he’s also looking forward to next year’s bag. Positive thoughts! Besides, you can get plenty of other exciting goods for less money in other stores…
Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]












Mr. Sato hunts for New Year’s lucky tablets in the wilderness of Akihabara
Mr. Sato goes back to the junk shops of Akihabara, where the real lucky bag action is
Mr. Sato gets his heart broken by a 2019 Akihabara Junk Shop Lucky Bag
Mr. Sato tries his luck with a lucky bag of mystery underwear
【Lucky Bag Roundup 2018】Akihabara Junk Shop Lucky Bags: Now with less junk!
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Japanese man drives truck that’s on fire directly to fire station, drops flaming potatoes[Videos]
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
TikTok releases its Year in Music 2025 – Japan’s Top 10 Songs ranking
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki is still drawing…and walking in his Vans
Universal Studios’ Sailor Moon theme park attraction is finally coming to America
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
W.T.F. Japan: Top 5 most difficult Japanese tongue twisters (with videos!) 【Weird Top Five】
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan opens new cafe and art gallery in top Tokyo tourist neighbourhood
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
7-Eleven Japan’s giant fried chicken skewer would be too big to eat, so it’s really for cuddling
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
【Lucky Bag Roundup 2017】Mr. Sato and his crew model 12 outfits from this year’s GAP fukubukuro
Akihabara capsule toy lucky bag is filled with cute characters and cool crap (literally)【Photos】
Akihabara junk shop offers “Guaranteed iPad and other various items!!” lucky bag in 2022
We bought a “Plastic Model Vegeta” lucky bag from Laox, got a model we really didn’t expect
The Akihabara ? Bag lucky bag may disappoint you if you yourself are a pretty weird guy
【2016 Lucky Bag Roundup】We buy a 3,000-yen, 5-kilo Lucky Bag of junk in Akihabara
The Thanko lucky bag overfloweth with interesting products
Demon Slayer lucky bag from Akihabara slays us with awesome anime merch
Mr. Sato divulges the contents of a 2015 Apple Store Lucky Bag–will he get a lame t-shirt again?
【Lucky Bag Roundup 2017】 We push our luck with a 3,000 yen “lucky bag” from Akihabara junk shop
Can our writer get lucky with a lucky bag of outlet sexy underwear?
Godzilla Store crushes New Year with king of the 2020 fukubukuro lucky bags
Get a piece of space with this lucky bag sold by a half-man, half-alien
Uniqlo Japan’s lucky bag creates chaos at Tokyo store
What’s inside the lucky bag from Akihabara’s largest adult toy shop?
This year’s Revlon Lucky Bag is not only totally worth buying but easy to get, too