Japanese Apple Stores Again Selling Annual 'Lucky Bags' on January 2

During the new year in Japan, retailers often offer a Fukubukuro, or “mystery bag,“ which is a grab bag filled with a random assortment of products sold at a steep discount.

Apple has participated in this tradition for quite some time, and will once again be offering its "Lucky Bag" in several different Apple Retail Stores across Japan on January 2.

apple_store_lucky_bag_2014
Lucky Bags, which Apple will sell this year for 36,000 yen, or $345, usually contain items like iPods, headphones, and t-shirts. A few fortunate folks, however, have received big-ticket items in past years, like iPads or MacBook Airs, which have made Lucky Bags ultra popular in Japan.

Apple's grab bags are sold as is, and returns are not accepted unless a product is defective. Still, the bags have been quick sellers on previous occasions, with many people lining up the night before to get their hands on a bag.

As with past years, Apple's Lucky Bag promotion is limited to Japanese customers, though other countries, like China, may see the same traditional Apple Store sales during the new year.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

windowpain Avatar
143 months ago
Seriously? Buying one of these bags is the true definition of Apple Fanboism. Your'e happy with whatever you get because it's made by Apple? Please...
I wouldn't spend my hard earned cash on the chance I might get something that I want. I know exactly what I want and that's what I'll buy. Talk about dumb.

These 'lucky bags' are used by a great many retailers in Japan, and not just apple. They are very popular, and general speaking the items inside are worth more than what you pay for the bag. Sometimes a lot lot more.

Its a bit of fun, and many people especially teenagers like to spend their new year money (a custom to give money to younger relatives) on a bag full of goodies.

What is dumb about it? No dumber than buying lotto tickets or scratch cards.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
143 months ago
Sweet

we really need to have this in N. America
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Solomani Avatar
143 months ago
we really need to have this in N. America

It will never happen in America because the lawsuits and greedy lawyers will ruin it. The minute someone gets a grab bag and feels disappointed with its contents, the lawyers will come to their rescue.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Snowshiro Avatar
143 months ago
As long as it contains enough stuff in it to make up the cost, I'd be game (if I lived in Japan)!
Really? Personally, I've never really liked these bags. They're often just an excuse for retailers to get rid of a load of old stock that they haven't been able to sell, on the premise that the value of the contents is higher than the ticket price. But normally these bags cost a lot less than the Apple version, so it's not such a big deal if it contains crap. 36,000 yen is a crazy amount to risk on getting a load of stuff that you may not even be able to use just because there's a tiny tiny change of getting something cool like a MacBook Air. In the past they've often had things like iPhone accessories, docks and other stuff which is worthless if you don't own the relevant device.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrXiro Avatar
143 months ago
Seriously? Buying one of these bags is the true definition of Apple Fanboism. Your'e happy with whatever you get because it's made by Apple? Please...
I wouldn't spend my hard earned cash on the chance I might get something that I want. I know exactly what I want and that's what I'll buy. Talk about dumb.

You must be someone that doesn't understand that other cultures have different customs... It's ok... we'll take it as you being not very cultured yourself. :rolleyes:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryox Avatar
143 months ago
I queue'd up at the Osaka Shinsaibashi Applestore last year, got lucky and bagged myself a MBA 11".

I was in the queue for 25 hours in whole.

All the bags were specially designed incase messenger bags, black with red polka dots. They all had mophie juicepack power stations, beats solo HD's, a t-shirt, either an MacBook air 11", iPad with retina display or an iPod nano with some accessories for the main prize you got. In my case a Magic Mouse, special edition cover for the MacBook Air and a sleeve for transportation.

In all about 300 bags were available at Shinsaibashi, but 700+ people turned up. Most of which were told to go home around 9pm. The MBA was the lowest end stock configuration.

I felt it was a bit cheap of them to include a nano of all the iPods.. At least a touch would have been nice for the lowest of the prizes...

They brought us Starbucks coffee around 7am and stores opened around 8. They had all the bags lined up on the Genius Bar counter at the back, and you got to grab one like a lucky dip. All the accessories were in there, and a card folded up, you opened it to reveal the prize. But you could kind of guess what you got because of the accessories you had in the bag already.

Out in the winter cold, on a fold out chair over night... It was tough. I think I was around number 30

Good luck to people going for the overnighter this year, especially the people in Sapporo..
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)