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McDonald’s Japan has a fukubukuro lucky bag that everyone wants to get their hands on

Oona McGee Jan 3, 2025
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There’s good reason why this is one of the most sought-after bags of 2025.

The start of the year in Japan is synonymous with fukubukuro (“lucky bags”), which are bargain bundles sold by stores around the country. While many of these bags can be purchased in-store, some are so sought after they can only be purchased by lottery winners who submit applications before the end of the year, and that’s the case with the McDonald’s fukubukuro.

The chances of purchasing this bag are few and far between, with many of our own reporters missing out on the opportunity when they applied in December. One person who didn’t miss out was McDonald’s fanatic Seiji Nakazawa, who was so eager to find out what was in the bag he woke up early to pick his up at the Shibuya Centre-Gai branch as soon as it opened at 8 a.m. on 1 January.

Every year, McDonald’s teams up with a well-known brand to create special limited-edition goods to include in the bag. In 2023, for instance, the chain teamed up with Chums, and last year it collaborated with Bruno, while this year, Beams is along for the ride.

This brand is known for creating products with a focus on clever design, and these skills are evident in the items inside the McDonald’s fukubukuro.

The bag contains the following products:

▼ McDonald’s x Beams Design Pouch

▼ Cleaner Cloth

▼ Special Coupons, valued at 3,610 yen (US$22.99).

▼ The expiry on these coupons is nice and long, lasting until 30 June.

▼ Potato Chips “Hand Catcher”

This nifty little gadget is designed to pluck out fries, helping to keep your fingers clean and oil-free.

▼ Big Mac Lantern

This is the product that’s been attracting the most attention amongst burger enthusiasts in Japan, because, well…just look at it! It’s shaped like a Big Mac!

This product isn’t available for general sale, making it even more of a unique item, and Seiji immediately put it to good use, lighting up his expression of surprise at how good it looked when all lit up.

We’ve been purchasing the McDonald’s lucky bag every year since 2016, before the chain began collaborating with big brands, and one thing that’s been common across the board is the practicality of the items. This year, though, the contents seemed to have a different focus, with a high sense of playfulness making it different from years past.

▼ This year’s bag is like a Happy Meal on steroids.

Every item brought a big smile to Seiji’s face, proving that the bag was worth every yen of the 3,480 yen he spent on it. And with 3,610-yen worth of coupons included, he basically got all the products for free, plus 130 yen extra in coupons, making it fantastic value for money. It certainly has customers happier than the Mister Donut bag, which has been less than stellar this year.

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[ Read in Japanese ]