Apple lovers in Japan camp out for 'Lucky Bag' sale

Retailers in Japan have a New Year shopping tradition of selling "lucky bags," which contain an assortment of items whose value typically exceeds the price you pay for the bag. To the delight of many Apple fanboys here in Tokyo, "lucky bags" are also sold at the Apple store. But at 30,000 yen (about $370), they don't come cheap.

Even at that price, demand is sky-high, and only the most dedicated of Apple fans can get them. Shoppers typically start lining up the day before the lucky bags go on sale, because every year at least a couple of people hit the jackpot and get a MacBook in their bag. From those who braved the cold overnight, here's a summary of what most are saying they found in their respective bags. I haven't seen any reports of MacBooks yet:

• Sennheiser earphones, smart remote with mic (iPod, iPhone, iPad)
• Mophie Juice Pack reserve
• iWires 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo plug retractable cable
• iPod nano OR iPod touch
• Griffin Slap case for iPod nano
• Nike+ sensor
• iHome speaker system for iPhone/iPod
• red limited edition Apple T-shirt (view at end of video)

This is all according to early reports from an assortment of shoppers. Check out Guttyo Blog's picture of the bag plus contents all spread out on a table (above).

Just to show how dedicated Japanese Apple fans are to acquiring these Lucky Bags, here's a video of the line-up at 2:25am, with people bundled up on a cold night to wait for the doors to open in the morning (h/t onebutton):




And here they are again just before the store opens - likely a little cold and tired, but far more excited. You can see the doors opening at about the 42:30 mark of this video. A local TV station is on the spot to capture the moment, although I suspect that they might have some editing to do due to an unexpected finger gesture from a clearly enthusiastic fan!