Only available to lottery winners, this “phantom” box is filled with special goods. 

Whenever something in Japan is so hard to get it’s rarely seen, it’s dubbed a “phantom” item. That’s the case with the Starbucks fukubukuro lucky bag, because unlike many other fukubukuro, you have to win a lottery to purchase it.

This year, all 19 members of our team put in an application for the lottery, and only three were successful. One of the lucky winners was K. Masami, our resident Starbucks expert who spent the year taste-testing every new Frappuccino release, so she was over the moon when she learned she would be able to purchase one for 8,000 yen (US$56.35).

▼ She was even happier when the bag arrived in a box on her doorstep.

▼ After plucking the items out of the bag, her haul turned out to be better than expected.

The Starbucks fukubukuro contain random items so you never know what you might get, but Masami was thrilled with everything she received.

▼ The first item to catch her eye was the Tote Bag, which was a high-quality product made with thick fabric.

▼ Next up was a Multi Case, which looked big enough to carry an iPad.

Then there was a couple of cafe plates. This was something Masami had never seen before, but they looked like a great way to enjoy a drink and a slice of cake.

Masami’s favourite items, though, were the tumblers, and she was surprised to receive not one but two of them.

▼ A Stainless To Go Cup Tumbler with a holiday motif…

▼…and a Stainless Steel Bottle that had “Starbucks Lucky Bag 2024 A” printed on the back, suggesting it was exclusive to the chain’s lucky bags.

▼ The spout was wide and looked easy to clean, so Masami will be using this every day.

▼ Rounding off the collection was a bag of Pike Place Roast ground coffee beans…

▼…and a set of seven drink tickets.

Each ticket can be used towards a drink or standard coffee beans up to a value of 671 yen in the case of dine-in, or 658 yen for takeout. That amounts to a total of up to 4,697 yen, which means everything else in the bag cost 3,303 yen.

This was great value for money, especially as stainless steel tumblers alone can cost around 4,000 yen each, so it turned out to be a fantastic start to the year for our Starbucks lover.

Now Masami is keener than ever to try all the new beverages the green mermaid serves up in the coming months!

Photos: ©SoraNews24
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