In the blink of an eye 2021 has flown by and another slew of lucky bags we must justify.

If kawaii (cute) is your culture, then look no further than Japanese company Sanrio and its host of cuddly characters. As the end of the year draws near and our annual lucky bag roundup once again moves into our collective minds, we were thrilled to learn of Sanrio’s 2022 lucky bag offerings. The contents of the bags will differ depending on whether you reserve yours in person at a Sanrio store or online at the Sanrio Online Shop, but all of them pay homage to the 2022 Year-of-the-Tiger theme.

▼ Sanrio’s 2022 lucky bag announcement

Lucky bags, known as fukubukuro in Japanese, are mystery bags full of goods for a flat fee that many stores offer to ring in the new year. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of opening a lucky bag of your favorite brand to find out what kind of merch you scored. For me, it replicates that feeling of opening a new booster pack of Pokémon cards back in ’99.

First, let’s take a look at the three lucky bag offerings that you can reserve at a physical Sanrio shopfront location. For these, please note that you must make your payment when you’re making the reservation in person at the store (phone orders are not accepted) between December 3-19. Each customer is limited to only one of each kind of bag. Your bag will be available for pickup beginning on December 28.

1. “You can choose the mascot” set (2,990 yen [US$26.20])

This set includes an original two-way tote bag, a 2022-themed mascot of your choice, and other Sanrio goods.

2. “You can choose the plushie and socks” set (3,990 yen)

This set includes an original shopping bag, a 2022-themed plushie and socks of your choice, and other Sanrio goods (the bath towel, plate, and bowl are guaranteed, though).

3. “You can choose the cushion” set (5,990 yen)

This set includes an original tote bag with a pocket, a cushion of your choice, and other Sanrio goods (the lap blanket and collapsible storage box are guaranteed, though).

Now let’s take a look at the five lucky bag offerings that you can receive through the Sanrio Online Shop. The online ordering method is a bit complicated because it’s based on an advance lottery system–meaning that you’re not guaranteed a lucky bag. If you are a lucky winner of the lottery, however, you can score one bag containing seven to 11 character goods associated with Hello Kitty, My Melody, Little Twin Stars, Pompompurin, or Cinnamoroll.

Each of these lucky bags costs 5,500 yen and contains more of a surprise element, though the plushies, socks, and collapsible storage box are the same as those in the three other lucky bag offerings featured above. These bags are limited to one per customer.

▼ The five lucky bags available by an online lottery system

To participate in the lottery, you must follow a series of steps which begins by installing the Sanrio member app Sanrio+ on your smartphone and creating a member account, which will link to your Sanrio Online Shop member profile.

Once you’ve installed the app and registered, complete the following steps:

1. Select “Coupon” (クーポン) in the lower central part of the screen (circled in red below).

2. Select “Exchange/gift prizes and coupons” (景品やクーポンに交換する・寄付する).

3. Select “Enter the 2022 lucky bag advance lottery sale” (2022年福袋 予約抽選販売に応募す).

▼ Steps 1-3

4. Select “Sanrio Online Shop 2022 lucky bag advance lottery sale entry coupon” (サンリオオンラインショップ本店 2022年福袋 予約抽選販売申し込みクーポン).

5. Select the entry coupon (申し込みクーポン) and agree to the terms of the lottery.

6. Select today’s date and time.

▼ Steps 4-6

7. Select “Enter this lottery” (この抽選に申し込む).

8. The app will confirm your successful entry with a “We have received your entry” message (抽選を受け付けました).

▼ Steps 7-8

Lottery entries can be placed through the Sanrio+ app between November 17 at 10 a.m. and November 29 at 11:59 p.m. and results will be released on December 3. If you win in the lottery, you must then make your payment, by credit card only, between December 3 at 10 a.m. and December 7 at 11:59 p.m. If you don’t complete your payment within this timeframe, your lottery win will be voided. There’s also a small bright light for those who don’t win the online lottery the first time because they’ll be given a second chance based on the number of lottery winners who don’t complete their payment during the above timeframe, meaning that some lucky bags will open up.

If you’re not able to reserve a Sanrio lucky bag for whatever reason, never fear–there are bound to be plenty of other kawaii options out there. We’re particularly curious to find out what Donguri Kyowakoku (aka the chain selling official Studio Ghibli merchandise) has in store for us this year.

Source: Twitter/@sanrio_news
Images: Sanrio (1, 2, 3) 
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[ Read in Japanese ]