Japan · New Year 2027 · Lucky bags, first sales and lotteries
Yes. Visitors can buy fukubukuro (lucky bags) offered over the counter in Japan’s stores, subject to each store’s stock and purchase rules; some bags instead need a lottery entry, membership or a delivery address in Japan. Then there is the calendar. Takashimaya’s stores close on Friday 1 January 2027, and most on Saturday 2 January too. In 2026 the major department stores opened on the 2nd or 3rd.
What fukubukuro are, and when they are sold
A fukubukuro is a bag or box of goods sold at one price, mostly around the New Year. Traditionally you could not see inside. Odakyu’s 2026 online lucky-bag page writes that bags with “contents known in advance” are increasing, and Daimaru Matsuzakaya’s online page notes that bags with known contents are among the many kinds now sold. Some bags are experiences rather than goods.
The examples below include over-the-counter sales, in-store lotteries, online orders and online lotteries. The table shows which applied to each store and season.
In store
Department store first sales, from 2 or 3 January in 2026. Bags come in limited numbers: Nihombashi Mitsukoshi’s 2026 lucky-bag list gave limits from 1 to 250 per bag. Some stores also took lottery entries in the store. Mister Donut, in 2025–26, sold its bags in shops from late December.
Online
Online orders opened at Takashimaya on 1 October 2026 and, category by category from 7 October, at Daimaru Matsuzakaya. For 2027, Pokémon Center’s lottery ran from 27 October to 2 November 2026; Starbucks’ entries open at 10:00 on 4 November and close at 23:59 on 15 November. Takashimaya and Pokémon Center deliver only within Japan; check each shop’s terms below.
Fukubukuro 2027: store by store
The table separates confirmed 2027 arrangements from examples from New Year 2026. 2027 announced means it is on the store’s own page or notice; 2025–26 example means a last-season store notice or news report, because no 2027 notice was on the pages we opened on 31 October 2026. Check each store’s latest notice before making plans. Prices are given only where the official page shows them, with their season.
If you plan to visit the Tokyo stores below, compare hotels near Nihombashi or Shinjuku for the New Year weekend; confirm the store’s 2027 opening date before booking.
| Store | How its lucky bags are sold |
|---|---|
| Takashimaya department stores | 2027 announced (18 August 2026): all group stores close on Fri 1 January 2027, and most also close on Sat 2 January. On the 2nd, Hakata Riverain Mall by Takashimaya opens (it closes on 31 December), and Yokohama’s 2 January was “under consideration”. Online, its “Fukubukuro 2027” orders run from 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2027, 10:00, with different deadlines by item; it has a section for bags with the contents shown. 2025–26 example: Nihombashi opened the whole store for its first sale on Sat 3 January 2026 at 10:00, and took paper entries for its lottery bags in the store on 3 and 4 January. |
| Mitsukoshi Isetan Isetan Shinjuku, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi | 2025–26 example: Isetan Shinjuku was closed on 1 January 2026 and opened its first sale on Fri 2 January, 10:00–18:00 (company release of 22 December 2025). Nihombashi Mitsukoshi had the same hours on the 2nd. Its “Hatsuyume” lucky bags had application methods that varied by plan, many through a web form; buyers were chosen by lottery and contacted from 5 January (by phone for the web-form plans). 2027 announced (online, JR Kyoto Isetan): its “2027年新春福袋” online page lists two batches: general orders from 10:00 on 3 November and from 10:00 on 2 December 2026, both to 10:00 on 25 December, each after a day of advance orders for MI Card members. Isetan Shinjuku’s and Nihombashi Mitsukoshi’s 2027 store days were not on the pages we opened. |
| Daimaru Matsuzakaya Daimaru Tokyo and others | 2027 announced (online): its online “Fukubukuro 2027” page gives 10:00 on 25 December 2026 as the general order deadline; some items have different deadlines. Its sales calendar lists categories opening on 7 and 27 October and 2, 4 and 10 November 2026, with start and end dates varying by item; no cancellations, returns or exchanges after ordering. 2025–26 example: Daimaru Tokyo’s first sale was planned for Sat 3 January 2026 at 9:30, and the themed bags in its release were sold by lottery (company release of 22 October 2025). |
| Sogo & Seibu | 2027 announced (online): its e.Depart “福袋大市 2027” runs to 17 January 2027, 23:59, with some bags delivered within 2026 and others from 1 January 2027. Its 2027 store days were not on the pages we opened. 2025–26 example: all stores closed on New Year’s Day 2026, with first sales from the 2nd (Kyodo, 31 October 2025); Seibu Shibuya sold its lucky bags from Fri 2 January. Kyodo reported that the company would decide its policy for 2027 onwards after reviewing 2026. |
| Hankyu Umeda Osaka | 2025–26 example: one of its experience bags, a furisode kimono set with a photo shoot in Kyoto, took web applications from 26 November to 20 December 2025, with a lottery if oversubscribed, and was on sale 26–31 December 2025 and 3–6 January 2026. |
| Starbucks Japan | 2027 announced: online lottery only (“全てオンラインストアで抽選販売”). Entries open at 10:00 on 4 November 2026 and close at 23:59 on 15 November, one per person, and need full My Starbucks membership (app-only provisional members cannot enter). Winners are emailed (planned for 25 November) and must complete the purchase by 23:59 on 2 December; delivery is on a date chosen at purchase, from 1 to 7 January 2027. A win found to have been resold or transferred is void. Price ¥9,500 (tax and delivery included). |
| Pokémon Center Online | 2027 announced: the “Pikapika Box 2027” lottery took applications from 27 October, 17:00, to 2 November 2026, 16:59, from accounts that had passed a phone-number check. Results from 6 November, 15:00; winners pay by 17 November, 16:59 (credit card only); dispatch 11–25 December. Delivery is within Japan only, with a flat ¥550 shipping charge including tax. 2025–26 example: the “Pikapika Box 2026” (¥4,400) was a lottery from 21 to 27 November 2025. |
| FamilyMart convenience stores | 2025–26 example: applications on Famima Online from 11 to 24 November 2025, one per person, with a lottery if oversubscribed; bags were collected from 1 to 14 January 2026. Price ¥3,300 including tax (2026). |
| Mister Donut | 2025–26 example: two bags, ¥3,800 and ¥6,500 (2026, takeaway prices including tax), reserved from 10 December 2025 online or in shops and on sale from 26 December, the date varying by shop, while stock lasted, in most shops. The donut exchange card inside was valid to 31 May 2026. |
Sources: each store’s own notice or page, and Kyodo and Jiji for Sogo & Seibu and the 2026 opening days; full list at the end. “Nihombashi” is the Tokyo district; Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi each have a flagship there.
Two things to check
New Year’s Day is mostly a closing day. Takashimaya’s group stores close on 1 January 2027, and most of them on the 2nd too. In 2026, Isetan Shinjuku and all Sogo & Seibu stores were closed on 1 January, and Kyodo wrote that New Year’s Day would now be a closing day at the large department stores almost across the board. If your trip has only one day for shopping, make it the 2nd or the 3rd, and check that store’s page in December. Banks, museums and other closures are in our New Year closures 2026–2027 guide.
Online orders and lotteries have their own conditions. Pokémon Center Online’s 2027 lottery was open only to accounts that had passed a phone-number check, and its help page lists numbers outside Japan, data SIMs and numbers starting 050 among those that cannot be verified; it delivers only within Japan. Takashimaya’s online store accepts orders from abroad but delivers only within Japan. Starbucks’ 2027 entries need a full My Starbucks account, and entries with incomplete form details or a faulty email address can be made invalid. Read each lottery’s terms before you enter.
What January’s department store numbers show
The Japan Department Stores Association publishes monthly sales for 176 stores of 70 companies. Its report for January 2026, published on 25 February 2026, covers the month of the 2026 first sales.
Japan’s department stores, January 2026
All sales: about ¥491.6 billion, up 2.3% on January 2025 (adjusted for store numbers; figures exclude consumption tax). Domestic sales rose 5.5%.
Tax-free (inbound) sales: ¥50.1 billion, down 19.1%, 10.2% of the total; tax-free buyers fell 21.0% to 468,000. The association cited the shift in the Lunar New Year holiday period, from 28 January – 4 February in 2025 to 15–23 February in 2026, and fewer flights after China asked its citizens to refrain from travel to Japan, among other factors.
The first sales: the association wrote that some stores again pushed their first sale back because they added New Year closing days, but that the sales were busy, led by food.
For you: food led the reported 2026 first-sale activity; that does not predict which floors will be busiest on your visit. The figures describe January 2026, not a forecast for 2027.
Why stores close, and how they share out the bags
Store notices and news reports explain the New Year closing days; the sellers’ own terms set the rules for limited bags. Each card gives the date of its source.
Closing on New Year’s Day
The notice. Takashimaya’s notice of 18 August 2026 sets 1 January 2027 as a closing day for all its group stores and 2 January for most of them. It gives three reasons: better working conditions for employees, including suppliers’ staff; hiring, by making the stores more attractive places to work; and an efficient way of operating that fits each store’s character and customer trends.
The reports. Kyodo reported on 31 October 2025 that Sogo & Seibu would close all its stores on New Year’s Day from 2026, to improve working conditions; it had opened all its stores on New Year’s Day from 2013 until some stopped in 2025. Its person in charge said the company wanted to keep sales level with the year before by strengthening store events. Jiji reported on 2 January 2026 that Takashimaya, Daimaru Matsuzakaya and Tobu were scheduled to open from 3 January “in order to give their employees more time off”.
For you. The first day of shopping in 2027 depends on the store. One department store’s 2 January can be another’s closing day, so check the store you want.
Lotteries, limits and shown contents
The rules. Starbucks’ and Pokémon Center’s 2027 bags are sold by lottery. The terms set limits: one entry per person at Starbucks for 2027, and at Pokémon Center and FamilyMart last season; at Nihombashi Takashimaya, one entry per person for each lottery bag, with all entries void if the same name entered more than once; Odakyu’s online shop limited some bags to one per person.
Resale. Starbucks’ terms say a win cannot be transferred, and that a win found to have been resold or transferred to someone else is void. The sources cited here do not measure lucky-bag resale; the resale rule here is Starbucks’ own.
Shown contents. Odakyu’s 2026 online page writes that bags with contents known in advance are increasing, with a trend towards value for money, and that some bags are now experiences; it adds that, because many good-value bags now show their contents, the cheaper ones seem to be fought over. Takashimaya’s 2027 online page has a section for bags with the contents shown.
For you. If a bag shows its contents, you can judge it like any other purchase. If it is drawn by lottery, read the entry terms first: membership, phone checks and delivery address are where a visitor can drop out.
Are lucky bags tax-free?
Since 1 November 2026 Japan’s tax-free shopping works by refund. According to the National Tax Agency, a tax-free shop sells to eligible visitors at the tax-inclusive price; the buyer has customs confirm the goods are being taken out of Japan when leaving, within 90 days of purchase; and the shop then refunds the consumption tax. How it works, and what to keep, is in our Japan tax-free shopping guide.
The NTA refund-method Q&A we checked on 31 October 2026 did not name lucky bags. Eligibility depends on the tax-free rules and the items in the bag, so ask the shop whether it can process that purchase as tax-free before you pay.
A day plan for 31 December to 3 January
2027 dates where a store has announced them; otherwise what happened in 2025–26, labelled.
| Day | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 | Hakata Riverain Mall by Takashimaya is closed (2027 announced). Other stores’ New Year’s Eve hours: check their pages in December. For the days before, see our Japan in December 2026 guide. |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | Takashimaya closed (2027 announced). 2025–26 example: Isetan Shinjuku and all Sogo & Seibu stores closed. Online bags arrived or could be collected: Starbucks delivered from 1 January, and FamilyMart’s could be collected from 10:00. A day for hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year (see our hatsumode guide). |
| Sat 2 Jan 2027 | Takashimaya closed, except Hakata Riverain Mall (open); Yokohama’s 2 January was “under consideration” in the 18 August 2026 notice. 2025–26 example: Isetan Shinjuku and Nihombashi Mitsukoshi opened at 10:00 and closed at 18:00; Sogo & Seibu began first sales; Jiji reported a long line outside Sogo Yokohama before its 9 a.m. opening, the first person having arrived at about 4:20 a.m. |
| Sun 3 Jan 2027 | The earliest day most Takashimaya stores can open in 2027; their first-sale details were not on the pages we opened. 2025–26 example: Takashimaya, Daimaru Matsuzakaya and Tobu were scheduled to open on 3 January (Jiji); Nihombashi Takashimaya let customers in by queue at set entrances at 10:00, including those not buying lucky bags; Daimaru Tokyo planned to open at 9:30 (October 2025 release). |
In Osaka, Hankyu’s and Daimaru’s main stores are in Umeda and Shinsaibashi; their 2027 first-sale days were not on the pages we opened, so check them before you compare Osaka hotels.
What to bring and what you can return depend on the store. Of the pages we opened, Daimaru Matsuzakaya’s online store and Odakyu’s say lucky bags cannot be cancelled, returned or exchanged after ordering, and Starbucks does not accept returns or exchanges for a change of mind. Payment methods are listed for online orders only (Takashimaya and Daimaru Matsuzakaya: cards and several Japanese payment apps, not convenience-store payment); for in-store payment, check at the store.
If you plan to carry bags between stores, a foldable bag (Amazon Japan) may help. For luggage you do not want to carry in Tokyo, search Radical Storage for Tokyo storage locations and check each one’s accepted items and hours.
Fukubukuro: FAQ
What is fukubukuro?
A “lucky bag”: goods sold together at one price, mostly at the New Year sales. Traditionally the contents were hidden. Now Odakyu’s online page notes that bags with contents known in advance are increasing, Takashimaya’s 2027 online shop has a section for them, and some bags are experiences.
When are fukubukuro sold in 2027?
In department stores, from their first sale of the year. Takashimaya’s stores close on 1 January 2027 and most of them on the 2nd too, so the 3rd is the earliest day for most of them; in 2026 Mitsukoshi Isetan and Sogo & Seibu began on 2 January. Online orders opened in October 2026 at Takashimaya and Daimaru Matsuzakaya. For 2027, Pokémon Center’s online lottery closed on 2 November 2026 and Starbucks’ entries open at 10:00 on 4 November and close on 15 November.
Can tourists buy fukubukuro?
Visitors can buy bags offered over the counter, subject to each store’s stock and purchase rules. Online lotteries are harder. For 2027, Starbucks requires a full My Starbucks account and delivers to the address given; Pokémon Center Online’s lottery needed a phone-number check that does not accept numbers outside Japan, and it delivers only within Japan.
Are lucky bags tax-free?
The National Tax Agency’s refund-method Q&A, checked again on 31 October 2026, did not name lucky bags. Since 1 November 2026 tax-free shopping works by refund after customs confirms the goods at departure. Eligibility depends on the rules and the items in the bag, so ask the shop before paying.
Which fukubukuro sell out?
There is no verified list of which 2027 bags will sell out. Check each store’s quantity, lottery deadline and purchase rules; for 2027, Starbucks and Pokémon Center use lotteries; last season, Mister Donut sold its bags while stock lasted.
Are fukubukuro worth it?
It depends on the bag. Where the contents are shown, compare them with what you would buy anyway. Check conditions too: Mister Donut’s 2026 donut card was valid to 31 May 2026, and several online bags cannot be returned or exchanged.
Sources (checked 14 October 2026; store pages rechecked 31 October 2026)
- Takashimaya: closing days, September 2026 – February 2027, 18 August 2026 (PDF); online “Fukubukuro 2027” order terms; online lucky-bag page; orders from abroad; Nihombashi first sale, January 2026 (PDF) (Japanese)
- Mitsukoshi Isetan: Isetan Shinjuku New Year release, 22 December 2025; Nihombashi Mitsukoshi New Year festival 2026; Nihombashi Mitsukoshi lucky-bag list 2026 (Japanese); JR Kyoto Isetan, 2027 New Year lucky bags online (Japanese)
- Daimaru Matsuzakaya: online “Fukubukuro 2027”; Daimaru Tokyo 2026 lucky bags, company release of 22 October 2025 (PR TIMES text via animeanime.jp; Japanese)
- Sogo & Seibu: Kyodo, large department stores to close on New Year’s Day, 31 October 2025 (Kyodo text via OANDA); Seibu Shibuya first sale 2026, company release (via San-tatsu; Japanese); e.Depart, Fukubukuro Fair 2027 (Japanese)
- Jiji Press, New Year sales start at major department stores, 2 January 2026 (Jiji English text via Adnkronos)
- Hankyu Umeda, experience lucky bags 2025–2026; Odakyu, online lucky bags 2026 (Japanese)
- Starbucks Japan, Lucky Bag 2027 terms; Pokémon Center Online, Pikapika Box 2027 lottery; Pokémon, Pikapika Box 2026, 21 November 2025, Pokémon Center Online phone verification help and delivery guide; FamilyMart, 2026 lucky-bag lottery, 10 November 2025; Mister Donut (Duskin), Misdo Fukubukuro 2026, 27 November 2025 (PDF) (Japanese)
- Japan Department Stores Association, national department store sales, January 2026, published 25 February 2026 (PDF) (Japanese)
- National Tax Agency, tax-free shops move to the refund method from 1 November 2026 (PDF) and Q&A on the refund method (PDF) (Japanese)
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