In Japan, lots of shops sell something called fukubukuro at the start of the year, which you could translate as “lucky bags.” They stuff a paper bag with all kinds of things and sell it for around half the usual price, and of course you don’t really know what’s inside until you open it. The shop gets to clear its stock and the customers get stuff cheap, so it works for everyone. It really is cheap, but there’s a chance you’ll get things you don’t need, so buying one on your own is a bit of a gamble. If a few of you buy one together and split it, though, you almost can’t go wrong. I was in Tokyo for the first time in a while and meeting up with friends, and while we were talking about what to do, since hardly anything is open over the New Year holidays, we decided to go fukubukuro hunting around the big electronics stores and Akihabara.
First we went to Bic Camera and bought a 980-yen fukubukuro with a mouse and various supplies in it. When we opened it, there was over 2,000 yen worth of stuff inside. Even after handing the electronic dictionary case and photo printing paper I don’t use to friends who needed them, I still had more than 1,000 yen worth of useful things. This year’s fukubukuro hunt was a big success. Doing it with friends turns out to be pretty fun..
Then we moved on to Akihabara. Wandering around, we found a place selling 10,000-yen fukubukuro with a compact digital camera inside. It’s not a particularly impressive model, but I needed a camera of exactly that level, so I bought one. From now on I plan to use my new camera to keep light records wherever I go. And since the image quality is what it is, I won’t be uploading the photos at large sizes like my DSLR shots.
A kebab stand
A kebab stand that always has a long line.. and it’s not even cheap..
Even this dark, it comes out reasonably well. I can’t say it lives up to the Zeiss T* name, but I like the colors, and this is good enough.. It’s a shame there’s a bit of noise and no image stabilization, but for that you’d have to pay 30,000 yen, right? -_-;; Where would I get that kind of money.. I’ll have to be happy with this.
The next day I came back to Akihabara to finish my shopping.
After wandering a bit, we tried going into a maid café.
A building with maid cafés from the 2nd to the 7th floor. Neither I nor my friends had ever been to a maid café, so we figured we’d give it a try this time. We’d originally planned to go to a different one, but it was closed for the New Year holidays.. So we just picked one at random.. a place handing out flyers on the street.
What I ordered: a “Luna Love something-or-other..”, an indescribably astral melon-flavored sugar solution
Tasted like they just dumped a load of sugar in..
The sesame ice cream chocolate my friend ordered
Well.. apparently a bit better than mine..
The shop’s flyer
The concept was a bit different from a typical maid café. A bit stiff, you could say.. but that’s fine in its own way.. After wandering through dreary Akiba among gloomy otaku, you start longing for an oasis of a café like this. The drinks weren’t that expensive either.. Though if you want to get friendly with the maids, it might cost you a bit..
The parfait my friend ordered
Apart from what I ordered, everything was apparently decent enough..
A photo taken at the entrance on the way out
Looks like the maid is saying no photos.. oh well..
This year Sofmap’s fukubukuro seem to have had some real jackpots..
The jackpot fukubukuro sell out fast, so you have to come in the morning to get one. I knew that from way back, but I’d been drinking with friends until 5 a.m. the night before, so coming in the morning was impossible. Well, there’ll be another chance..
Kyushu Jangara Ramen
How does this place never go under..
The maid café we’d originally planned to visit..
Next time.. That said, other than the staff wearing maid outfits and occasionally chatting with customers, it’s not that different from a regular café. Don’t expect too much..
In front of Yodobashi, just before leaving
Taken right before I caught the shinkansen home. Tokyo really feels like a hometown to me ^_^ so I think I’ll have plenty more reasons to go. Next time I’ll hit some good restaurants too. This time I was way underprepared.