Apple Lucky Bags go on sale in Japan

[koobcamuk]

Perhaps it's because they let their midriff proudly hang out these days instead of keeping it in its place.

The post made me laugh. Thanks.

Nice one. America is so uncool. Crap phones. How many people are on broadband now? You have so much investment in Japan - get with it people! The UK sucks even worse than the USA and that's pretty low. No offence to anyone. If you take offence, you're a tosser anyway.

 

[Swarmlord]

I'm not much of a gambler. I wouldn't buy one of those bags unless I knew what was in them first and then actually needed it.

 

[MattyMac]

That settles it. I'm naming my next dog Fukubukuro.

LOL

 

[MattDell]

WHY has AMERICA fallen so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to being cool? THEY GET FUKUBUROKUSUDUKO and we get LINDSAY FREAKIN LOHAN.

Because we have Christmas?

 

[alec]

Over on the Apple Store fan site the y are all impressed that Apple has window display signs and employment ads in French for its stores in Quebec. Guess what, that is the law in Quebec, no English allowed for signs visible outside the store.

Vendor at the World Trade Center: Quebec or crab juice.
Homer Simpson: Blecch! Ew! Sheesh! I'll take a crab juice.

 

[mac 2005]

whoa there cowboy.

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[puckhead193]

This puts our black friday sale in the US to shame lol
that's really cool though... Does the bag have an apple logo on it? Then its definitely worth the $$$

 

[moot]

If Apple were to do something like this offer in the United States, there would be a crushing amount of "negative" votes from people outside the United States. Yet Apple offers something like this program in Japan and none of our MacRumors members gives it a second thought.

Why is that?

Well, America had black Friday and a lot of Europe had some sort of sale recently but Japan had nothing. So it all tends to balance out right?

Fuku means fun.

ahm fuku means lucky, so fukubukuro literaly means "lucky bag"

I love Lucky Bags, several times when I have been in Japan I have bought them (never at Apple though) and I've never been disappointed... although I have gotten some truly weird stuff in a couple of them.

I must surely be unlucky. I keep buying bags with a bunch of junk. Basically, stuff which doesn't sell very well and so the retailer gets rid of it at a cheap price. Gulluble bargain hunters always fall for it.

I was in Tokyo over New Years a couple years ago. Along with the "Lucky Bags" is the other custom of giving kids "Lucky Money" as a New Years gift. Kids get some from most relatives. So the lucky bags get bought with lucky money. Pretty direct connection. You see mostly high school and slightly older (mostly) girls lining up very early before the stores open. We have some smaller kids so went into a toy store, a large one, five floors tall that my wife remembered being there when she was little and living in Japan. They had the bags, but they where displaying contents so no surprise. There were about four different bags and you could pick. I think a lot of the stores were letting you know more about what you'd get but it's hard to tell when you can't read the ads.

I was more interested in the many street vendors selling food. Seems they are allowed to set up on the sidewalks for new years. New Years is by far the biggest holiday in Japan.

Don't forget, kids don't really get Xmas pressies in Japan. All they mostly get is the New Year's money. Most kids are very dilligent and put it in a bank. I know many kids with $2000 in savings. Then they blow it all on a round-the-word trip or driving lessons or a Mac Pro
It's great for the kids, not so much fun for the adult relatives who have to fork out a small fortune in lucky money every year. I'm looking at $500 for all my realatives when totaled up.

Anyway, the lucky bags will be bargains but a lot of the stuff won't be what people would buy when given a choice. But they can always sell it on Yahoo Auction

 

[freeny]

Fuku means fun.

You can say that again

 

[mac 2005]

Well, America had black Friday and a lot of Europe had some sort of sale recently but Japan had nothing. So it all tends to balance out right?

That was the point of my rant. I think a lot of people on this board see what Apple offers us in the US and respond with a negative vote because they don't benefit. They then forget about all the cool things Apple does for them either prior to or following the US program -- based on local laws, standards, what have you, these programs can be way cooler than what we in the US enjoy.

 

[Pressure]

I will gladly buy a bag that is rectangular and Macbook Pro sized

Weren't you getting a PC anyway...

 

[g0gie]

I was at the SF store opening and scored one of the lucky bags. it was WELL worth it. I wouldn't mind camping the night out again to score another... if only apple woudl do it again in the US

 

[joshwest]

has anyone purchased a apple one in the past? what was included?

 

[DTG]

Yup. I camped outside the Regent Street store in London before the grand opening back in 2004. My bag came loaded with the following goodies:

Airport Express
iSight
.Mac
iLife 04
Keynote
Wireless Keyboard
Wireless Mouse
Apple T-Shirt (which I still have sealed)

plus a few other things that clearly weren't special enough for me to remember, but that's the main things.

Cost me £250. Worth it? Maybe. The AEx has been priceless for taking wireless internet and audio everywhere I go. (Being a student it's great to just chuck my laptop and AEx in a bag for trips home).
I sold all the rest where I could (already had the KB+mouse), either bundled with selling old Macs or items on their own. Probably got £200 out of that so you could say I got the AEx for £50, plus a sleepless night on the streets of London!

I thought these things always happened at the grand openings of the flagship stores?

has anyone purchased a apple one in the past? what was included?

 

[moot]

has anyone purchased a apple one in the past? what was included?

Well I haven't but I did a search on Google and I found this blog. This was bought in the Japanese New Year sale in January 2006.

Here is a list:

iPod nano 2GB (White)
iPod nano Armband (Red)
iPod nano Lanyard Headphone
iPod nano Tube
Apple iPod Universal Dock
Apple Remote
Power Support iPod nano crystal film cover set
Sumajin smartwrap 5color bag 1
Bang & Olufsen A8
JBL On Stage
iTunes Music Card 5,000
10% OFF Card
Original Tshirt
Original Badge

 

[japanime]

Yatta! Can't wait to get my hands on one of these!

Also, an earlier post said that kids in Japan generaly don't get Christmas presents. That's not really true. "Santa-san" has a pretty solid tradition here. I don't know of one family at my daughter's elementary school that doesn't give their young ones at least a trinket or two on X'mas (as we are fond of calling it here) Day.

 

[moot]

Actually I said,

Don't forget, kids don't really get Xmas pressies in Japan. All they mostly get is the New Year's money.

Yes, you are right. Xmas is getting bigger here but mainly only in the big cities. Even there, getting presents is not endemic. As you said, yes a lot of kids get

at least a trinket or two

, but nothing of the sort that Americans or British (&others) get. My friends in the US spend a small fortune on buying Christmas presents every year. In Japan, those kids who do get something ususally get something small. The main present is the New Year lucky money.

I know a lot of elemenatry school kids and I have been asking them recently about Christmas. About half of them will get presents and they said mostly they will be small things.

 

[kansaigaijin]

enjoy your KFC and icecream cake.

 

[Jimmieboy]

If only we had Lucky Bags in Australia. Maybe we have to be good for Santa-San to get New Years Lucky bags.

 

[charkshark]

I'm so incredibly tempted......I'm gonna buy an iPod anyways....