My first lucky bag

I never bought fukubukuro (lucky bags) in Japan before this year. Even when I was rolling in the money and had it all to spend only on myself, I still never did it. But I can see the appeal. Especially during new year. All these Japanese workers have just gotten their bonuses at work. Kids have their pockets stuffed with otoshidama from their relatives. And everywhere except the shopping malls is closed for at least three days. Why not burn some of that time and that money by going out and grabbing some fukubukuro?

So what are lucky bags? During the new year, starting from January first, stores offer bags of goods for various prices. Some of the bags are secret and the contents aren’t even labeled, while others have their contents on display. The secret ones are the most attractive because they have the factor of mystery around them. There is a chance you could get something extraordinary for a fraction of the price.

But what is usually in the bags? Last year's cast offs actually. This doesn’t mean that the merchandise isn’t worthwhile, it just so happens that the stores have overstocked. 

So, while I was at the mall to watch a movie in the cinema for the first time in over two years, I also took a look at all the lucky bags available. I peeked into every store that might have something I would consider, from children’s clothing to jewelry stores to variety stores. 

All of the clothing stores were a "lose" from the get-go. Not one of them had clothing in my size. The bags were often M or L and I am often more of an LL or even a 3 or 4 L for bottoms. I expected it because I can rarely find anything for myself anyway. But even the children's clothing was disappointing because by the afternoon of the 2nd, the majority of the bags were gone. There were a few in sizes waaay to big for my youngest and too small for my oldest, and one that would fit my son now, but be outgrown in half a second. 

There were plenty more that caught my eye but were sold out already.

The bag that really drew my attention was from a jewelry store. There was a silver for 5,000yen, gold for 10,000yen and platinum for 30,000yen. Now I wouldn’t waste 300 bucks on a chance that I might possibly get some kind of jewelry that I would like, but I really liked the idea of the 5,000 yen silver bag. 

So which bag did I end up getting after my afternoon of searching and movie going?

If you hop on over to YouTube, you can see a video I made about it. I am just getting started on making videos, but hopefully, 2019 proves to be a well vlogged year.

So here is my lucky bag!

I was frugal and went with a 1,080 yen bag from an old school Japanese candy (Dagashi) shop. I was too late to get the jewelry I had wanted as well. It sold out while I looked around.  

Inside the bag, instead of candy like I thought it would be, was a ton of snacks. I wouldn't call it a deal. Most of the snacks go for about a 100 yen to begin with. However, I did enjoy opening it with my kids that were home at the time. I would never have bought most of these things so it was a good chance to try new things. And try them we did.

Of the few we did not taste that day, here are my thoughts on the ones we have tasted.

Peporocino instant noodles

Verdict= tasty as heck!

Giant fish leather

Verdict = Hard to chew. However, I would, in fact, get this again! It had a sweetness to it I didn’t expect but was still good. 

Mochi taro 

Verdict = salty but good. 

I have a story about this one. I have had this once before. My hubby and I wanted a snack and the package says peanuts. I thought, "Perfect!" The mochi bits are rather greasy tasting. After a few, I got tired of them so I told hubby to just give me any peanuts at the bottom. When he and the kids finally got to the bottom of the bag there was literally one peanut. And no one had eaten any. There were just none included. I felt so cheated. This time was better. There were quite a few,  thankfully.

Fugashi (Molasses Log)

Verdict = I love them….but I am really weird. They remind me of something from the great depression and penny candy. They are puffed wheat gluten(similar to a giant Cheeto) covered in brown sugar. 

You'll have to forgive the low-quality photos. I lost my SD card