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Picture of the Day ( 26 )
Hundreds of young girls swap the contents of their lucky bags (“fukubukuro”) outside Shibuya’s 109 store in Tokyo on Monday. Thousands of girls swarmed into the store throughout the day. Several hundred, including some as young as 14, waited in line from as early as 6 a.m. The store is holding a one-week sale with discounts of up to 80%.
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26 Comments
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-2
globalwatcher
Found no men on the photo unlike US. I wonder if Japanese men are too proud. Very interesting from the other side of continent.
-1
rhyhl
the good and the bad of new years sales, everything cheap, but then its packed everywhere.
-4
Garrison York
damm why wasnt i there
-4
Andrew Decena
My ex was definitley there.
-4
MaboDofuIsSpicy
There are lots of men globalwatcher, but most young men here with their make-up, hair cuts, and girls clothing fashions look like the girls. Zoom in closer for a better look.
-1
Serrano
Why do the security guards wear white gloves?
0
smithinjapan
So they gather at all hours to they can fight to buy something they need to gather together and give away, or trade for something slightly less worse, after? How about keeping the money in the first place and buying something you want? There's no way more than one in every thousand or so has something of or higher than the value of the bag. It's all out-of-season stuff the shops can't sell, so this is how they turn a profit.
2
southsakai
Basically the purpose of wearing them is to maintain a clean and professional image. Not only security guards but in many other professions here in Japan as well such as Airline Pilots, bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc
Also politicians also wear them when giving stump speeches during elections. Google up some pics.
The gloves signify purity in their trust sense and in the professional situation, indicate that the wearer is dedicated, focused and commited to the job at hand. I don't think there's anything more to it than that :)
-1
Serrano
smitty: "How about keeping the money in the first place and buying something you want?"
That's no fun!
Are you sure about no more than 1 in every 1,000 bags has stuff that is higher value than the price of the bag?
0
Fadamor
Lots of men in the picture, but with the exception of one I found, they're all security guards. The one who's NOT a security guard is in the bottom-right corner, just above the rail.
0
MaboDofuIsSpicy
There are many guys in the image besides the guys with the gloves. You really have to open your eyes. Two people on the bottom left. The one on the left is a guy.
This was on the news yesterday live. There were a ton of guys there.
1
Meagan Hiatt
There are at least 6 men who are not security. http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/bluelightning13/findguys.jpg
1
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Thank you Meagan. Good photo there.
1
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Use the Link Markers Meagan
Put it in between these. <>
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/bluelightning13/findguys.jpg
-1
UncleBudah
hey , MaboDofulsSpicy fund the Waldos!
-4
sasakama
I'm not surprised to see this situation that many girls are in front of department store and almost no man. Basically most of the man doesn't like to accompany with women who want to concentrate on shopping.... which is very boring for men. It's better for men to wait in coffee shop until the shopping finish.
0
Blair Herron
There should be more than 6 men because there are lots of 装飾男子(soshoku danshi)in Shibuya.
http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/shop/totally-new-soshoku-danshi-189483
-1
Meagan Hiatt
thanks for the tip MaboDofuls Spicy!
0
oberst
best Where's Waldo san pic yet from JT in 2012 !!
1
Foxie
I bet that is a lot of fun when you are 14.
-1
smithinjapan
Serrano: "Are you sure about no more than 1 in every 1,000 bags has stuff that is higher value than the price of the bag?"
Well, that all depends on your outlook, I guess. The shops often keep the original price tags on (if any), but remember that for the most part it's stuff they've overbought and/or cannot sell. Imagine a Uni-Qlo 'lucky bag' sale rolling around in April and most of what was in the bag is winter clothes. The actual value may be more than the cost of the bag, but it's stuff you won't be able to wear for more than half a year -- and even then it might not be your size, colour, and may be out of fashion. That's a bit of an 'extreme' example in terms of off-loading out-of-season items, but I figure the analogy is easy to understand. They would probably still be getting fall/winter items in the bags now, but they'd be getting scarves they don't want, gloves they don't like, perfume that hasn't sold, a skirt.... I've never met a person who was overall happy at the lucky bag they bought (admittedly have met some that liked a FEW of the articles and so were satisfied). What I meant by the literal 'one in a thousand' was in referring to lucky bags with something special in them: free hotel stay at Hotel Okura, or free bus tour, digital camera, or something like that tucked in with all the throw-aways.
-1
smithinjapan
Foxie: When I was a wee little guy in my hometown there was a local mom and pop shop that sold 'mystery bags' for 25 cents a pop, and I LOVED buying them -- because they always had more than the intrinsic value of what you paid. Sure, some of the sweets I didn't like some times, but they were always very fair. Other times I'd pass them by because there was something I wanted specifically, at higher cost, and didn't want to leave it to chance there might be some in there.
They can be fun, I think, especially at kitschy little shops or candy stores where the price is cheap and the quality (well, okay, maybe not for the kitschy stuff) high for the cost. But the whole 'trend' of spending a minimum of 10,000 (and people often buy more than one!) for stuff you probably won't want, and FIGHTING the hoards to get it...? I can't understand it.
-1
mikemiro
@southsakai: actually, I thought the white gloves signified purity & chastity - that's why I thought only old security guards wear them, because compared to the girls shopping at 109, the guards are a picture of piety & naiveté
0
whiskeysour
America has Black Friday / Japan has lucky " Homeless Bag Lady Day !!! "
-1
globalwatcher
@Blair
Wow, I am learning about "shoshoku danshi" on the web. I am learning a new Japan.
1
Badge213
But more civilized then Black Friday. How many people pepper sprayed or killed in Japan?
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