I’ve always loved the concept of a bag full of surprises, and Japan nails it with fukubukuro. Every New Year, massive crowds line up outside stores hoping to snag these “lucky bags” filled with mystery items at a steep discount. It’s part shopping, part gambling, and all hype.
These days, you don’t always need to camp out in the cold. Many shops now take online pre-orders. Some even run lotteries instead, so you’ll need real luck to get one.
The word fukubukuro combines fuku (福, meaning “good fortune”) and fukuro (袋, meaning “bag”), and this tradition dates back to the late Meiji era. Over 100 years later, it’s still one of the most exciting ways to kick off the year with a bag of mystery and a shot at treasure.
We picked up the Yakiniku King Lucky Bag 2025 because it offers an impressive amount of goodies for just 3,000 yen ($20.73 USD).
Everything came neatly packed inside a reusable Yakiniku King shopping basket, which added to the charm. Inside the basket were Sakuma Drops, a meat-patterned eco-bag, a set of three Yakiniku King-themed tissue boxes, Yakiniku King masking tape, and a generous set of coupons worth 4,000 yen ($27.64 USD), consisting of eight coupons each worth 500 yen.
If you’re a regular at Yakiniku King, this lucky bag is a solid pick. The original merchandise is fun, and the coupon value alone makes it a great deal.
I’m Jake Caprino, who is more commonly known by the online alias Swaps4. I’m a business owner based in Japan. I enjoy writing about anime, video games, and bits & pieces of Japanese culture.