New Year’s Day shoppers can get major bargains at Ala Moana Center and the Royal Hawaiian Center, where scores of retailers will be participating in the Japanese tradition of fukubukuro.
During fukubukuro, which translates as “lucky bag,” shoppers can buy a sealed bag of unknown, mystery products priced at half the full retail price. The tradition started more than century ago in Japan.
At Ala Moana Center, 45 retailers will participate, including clothing stores Crazy Shirts, Lacoste, Ted Baker London and Tori Richard; jewelers Kay Jewelers, Na Hoku, Maui Divers and Swarovski; gift shops Martin &MacArthur and Lupicia; surfwear merchants from T&C Surf Designs and Local Motion; health and beauty outlets Bath &Body Works, the Body Shop, the Face Shop and bareMinerals; and footwear stores Jimmy Choo and Island Slipper. For a complete list of participating merchants, visit 808ne.ws/luckybag.
Ala Moana has been holding fukubukuro since 2002 and the event has proved extremely popular, with shoppers lining up early at their favorite shops. In previous years, bags have been sold at prices ranging from $10 to $5,000.
Stores will open at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Each participating store will have a limited number of grab bags; usually about 10,000 bags total are available. No returns possible.
Royal Hawaiian Center’s fukubukuro kicks off at 10:30 a.m. with a taiko performance by Kenny Endo’s Taiko Center of the Pacific, with stores opening at 11 a.m.
Participating stores include fashion houses Allure Swimwear &Pineapple Lingerie, Kate Spade New York and Tory Burch; quilt shops Oahu Quilt and Royal Hawaiian Quilt; keiki shop Kira x Miffy; dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan; and House of Mana Up, which specializes in products from growing Hawaii-based companies. For a complete list, visit RoyalHawaiian Center.com. Prices on lucky bags will range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.
