winter

Lucky bags and shopping carts

Sendai's New Year's sales are amazing! Get your hands on a luxurious lucky bag in Sendai on the 2nd of January!

  • Chimon
  • Last updated:

When you think of New Year's in Sendai, you think of the first sale ! Nowadays, first sales are held all over Japan, but their origins lie in a commercial event held in the Sendai domain during the Edo period!

the Sendai New Year's sale is the most extravagant in Japan ? Today, we'll tell you how extravagant the Sendai New Year's sale is and why it's so extravagant!

What are the amazing products at Sendai's New Year's sale?

Sendai Station
Sendai Station

A symbol of the extravagance of Sendai's New Year's sales the lucky bags sold at each department store .

There are many department stores in Sendai, including Sendai Mitsukoshi, Fujisaki, S-Pal, Parco, and Aeru, and each one has lines of over 1,000 people

These department stores not only sell regular lucky bags that contain 50,000 yen worth of goods for 10,000 yen, but also lucky bags unique to Sendai, such as Rakuten's support lucky bag and a lucky bag with a ticket to stay at Uminomori Aquarium, and even lucky bag that gives you a single-story house !

The most expensive lucky bag sold at Sendai Mitsukoshi in 2017 was a "prayer beads product made of 108 pieces of red coral strung together," which cost a whopping 200 million yen !

Among the most luxurious items on offer at Sendai's first sale in Japan, the most popular is said to be the Igeta Tea Box .

Tea boxes are popular! Get a luxurious prize at Igeta Tea!

About 10 minutes walk from JR Sendai Station

At Ocha no Igeta, located in the middle of the shopping district, huge lines form from around the evening on New Year's Day, when the stores are closed

The purpose is the "tea box .

Unlike lucky bags, Igeta Tea's tea boxes are prizes given to the first 100 people who spend over 5,000 yen

The boxes are ranked into large, medium, and small boxes, and the large box is a special gift that only the first three people can get. This large box is so popular that some brave souls line up from New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, or even December 30th!

Spending more than two days outside in the cold Tohoku weather is extremely tough on your body, so if you're up for the challenge, make sure you take proper precautions against the cold!

As for what's inside, although the contents are different every year, even a small box is sure to cost over 10,000 yen!

In some years, the larger venues even had TVs in their boxes! It's amazing how generous they are to give away such prizes for free

But why aren't such luxurious prizes given out in other prefectures? There's actually a deep legal reason for this!

Sendai's New Year's sale violates the Premiums and Gifts Act!? Here's why you can get luxurious prizes for free!

In fact, distributing such high-value prizes the Premiums and Representations Act , and is therefore prohibited in other prefectures.

So why is Sendai the only place that is recognized?

The reason is that Sendai's first sale is a traditional event.

"kaihajime," which refers to having people in the castle town deliver rice and salt , and there is a theory that the first sales were held around this time.

in the "Summary of Sendai's Annual Events" written in 1849 there is an entry for "Urisomebaikai," "people open up closed stores early in the morning to buy things. It is customary to offer prizes to buyers regardless of the price," proving that this was a beloved traditional event at the end of the Edo period.

With this background, the Fair Trade Commission has recognized the Sendai New Year's sale as a traditional event, and as an exception

Within the territory of the former Sendai domain, the distribution of luxurious prizes is permitted only within the first three days of the New Year

By the way, even if there are stores that hold the Sendai New Year's Sale for more than four days, please be aware that from the fourth day onwards they will only be holding regular sales

Also, Sendai's first sale only starts on January 2nd!

Even if a store is open on New Year's Day, it will be operating as usual and not during the Sendai New Year's sale, so make sure to use the day to save up your energy for the sale!

Information

  • Name: Igeta Tea Sendai Central Main Branch
  • Address: Shobundo Building 1F, 2-5-9 Chuo, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, 980-0021
  • Phone number: 022-261-1351
  • Official URL: https://www.ocha-igeta.co.jp/

Google Map

reference

Other articles