Department store operators in Japan have unveiled a variety of traditional New Year’s bargain packages for 2025.
Past fukubukuro, or lucky bags, often contained clothing or household items. Many of the latest ones will offer daily food staples to cater to cost-conscious consumers amid rising prices.
A department store in Tokyo will offer a lucky bag for about 3,000 yen, or 20 dollars, with cooking oil, packaged rice and other food items whose prices are soaring.
It will also conduct a 5,000-yen lottery. Entrants could win sushi and steak meat worth up to four times the ticket price.
The store operator says 80 percent of its lucky bags will contain food products.
Kino Tamaki, Matsuya Ginza operator, said, “Our lucky bags are aimed at helping value-conscious consumers amid higher prices.”
Another Tokyo department store plans to offer a 10,000-yen coupon which will give its recipient one piece of bread a day from its bakery, for 60 days.
Non-food items include tickets for a zoo experience handling animals such as snakes, which are the next year’s Chinese zodiac symbol.