New Year’s Shopping in Tokyo: Fukubukuro Mania

One of the best times to shop in Tokyo is the first week of January. Almost all stores have sales and a lot of them offer fukubukuro, or “lucky bags” — a Japanese New Year’s tradition. Fukubukuro are filled with mystery items and sold for a discounted price; each store has a limited amount, so insane lines form for a popular store’s fukubukuro.

A lot of stores are closed on New Year’s Day, but Laforet – a Harajuku department store – was open this year. A sign above their entrance announced the dates they’d be selling fukubukuro.

New Year’s Day shoppers inside Laforet.

Stores make special bags for their fukubukuro. Sometimes the bags are so cute you want to buy the fukubukuro just for the bag. I wanted this brand’s bag because of their logo — a bear drooling vomit; the hologram effect was a bonus.

Sometimes you want to buy a fukubukuro because the brand name is funny and/or nonsensical. This happened a lot.

This shop only had one fukubukuro left, so the salesgirls were jumping around and shouting “last one!” So kawaii.

Most shoppers bought multiple fukubukuro. Some people bought so many they needed wheeled luggage to carry everything.

Another department store with major fukubukuro action was Shibuya 109 — the mecca for girls who like gyaru style.

People camped out the night before.

On opening day, security was there to prevent shopping casualties. If a stampede had actually happened, I’m not sure how well this wall would’ve held up; those guys seemed nervous.

Girls immediately opened their fukubukuro on the sidewalk to check out their winnings.

Meanwhile, behind the barricade, shoppers held up their unwanted items for trade with others.

New Year’s shopping has become a social activity as much as a hunt for deals so many girls shop in large groups.

Guys also like fukubukuro. This line was for the Journal Standard store in Shinjuku.

Fukubukuro duffel bags from a men’s store on Cat Street in Harajuku.

Francfranc is a Japanese home goods chain store whose fukubukuro came in boxes. All kinds of vendors sell fukubukuro, including bakeries, pharmacies, and the Apple store. Mystery cake, drugs, and iPads, anyone?

I decided to buy a 5000 yen (around $60, based on the current exchange rate) fukubukuro from Lowrys Farm, one of my favorite Japanese brands. A fuzzy/cute bag and a hilarious/nonsensical brand name — so far so good.

And the reveal! Six items: a short down jacket, a sweater dress, a thin hooded poncho, two sweaters, and a jersey top.

Normally, the down jacket alone would have cost 5000 yen, so on one hand, this was an awesome deal; on the other hand, I will probably only wear two of these items. Opening a bag full of unknown items was inexplicably thrilling — it’s like gambling, for shoppers. Well, this is what regifting is for.

Los Angeles: In-N-Out Burger on Sunset Blvd.

It’s pouring rain in New York today, so I’m dreaming about this:

Once, my friend and I had a hankering for In-N-Out. We were one block away when we realized we had to make a turn; in our panic for milkshakes, she suddenly swerved into the next lane and bumped into another car. No one was hurt, but thus is the power of In-N-Out.

I admit, my favorite fast food fries are from McDonald’s. However, it’s comforting to see real people slicing real potatoes in real time at In-N-Out.

Cheeseburger. The sauce (or spread) In-N-Out uses on its burgers tastes like Thousand Island dressing. Yummmmmm.

I don’t eat beef, so I get the grilled cheese which is the exact same thing as a cheeseburger — minus the patty. The grilled cheese, along with the popular Animal Style burger, is on the not-so-secret Secret Menu. There are more options on the complete Secret Menu, like Neapolitan milkshakes and custom fries.

In-N-Out Burger
7009 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

I feel like I have wings but my bones are bricks.

Skim is a graphic novel that follows “Skim,” a Japanese-Canadian “not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth” girl at a private girls’ school. Mariko Tamaki captures the mundane, everyday, secret things that shape people’s high school experiences; Jillian Tamaki’s sketchy lines and textures make the characters imperfect and real. Skim is about how friendships and people change. It’s about feeling awkward and confused, learning what you want and wanting what you can’t have. It’s about how high school and life shouldn’t be about fitting in, but accepting the space you make for yourself.

Sometimes when I read stories set in high school, I feel like I’m on the outside looking in, watching someone else grow up. Reading Skim, I watched myself grow up.

New York: Thai Iced Tea Thrills at TUE Thai Food

My friends and I were in the West Village with less than an hour to eat dinner and a $10 budget each. After walking by a few crowded and pricey places, we stumbled upon TUE Thai Food.

I figured I’d wolf down some pad Thai and be on my way. I wasn’t expecting the best Thai iced tea presentation ever:

I have an affinity for mason jar glasses. Most restaurants only use them to serve lemonade or regular iced tea. Once, I had mason jar bubble tea — now that was an exciting day.

The self-pouring and mixing process also added to my beverage experience.

And voilà! Thrills and chills!

Oh right, the food was pretty good too; once we were seated, service was fast. The Thai iced tea pushed my total over $10, but I couldn’t turn down a mason jar.

TUE Thai Food
3 Greenwich Avenue (between Christopher St. and 10th St.)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 929-9888