Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

Apple Japan announces annual 'Lucky Bag' promotion for Jan. 2

Apple on Friday announced its "Lucky Bags" promotion for Japan, a New Year's retail tradition that consistently nets customers visiting brick-and-mortar Apple Stores hundreds of dollars' worth of savings.

Terms and conditions for this year's Lucky Bags promo were posted to Apple Japan's retail website, revealing festivities will kick off on Jan. 2, 2015, with many Japanese Apple Store locations open two hours early to accommodate a usual throng of customers. The change was spotted by Japanese blog Kodawarisan.

Called Fukubukuro in Japanese, roughly translated to "Lucky Bags," the yearly custom sees major retailers and department stores sell sealed grab bags filled with popular and sometimes expensive items. Customers take a slight risk in buying Fukubukuro as they are not privy to the bags' contents, but the combined value of included goods is almost always worth more than the price paid.

Last year, Apple sold four different Fukubukuro packages, each priced at 36,000 yen (about $343 at the time), with some bags stuffed with special gifts like an 11-inch MacBook Air, iPad Air or first-generation iPad mini. The company has yet to reveal Fukubukuro pricing for 2015.

As with past years, Apple Store Lucky Bags can only be purchased at brick-and-mortar Apple Stores, while customers are limited to one bag per day and the items within can only be returned if defective.

Apple's Lucky Bags promo is set to kick off at 8 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2015.