Sales in Japan 日本のバーゲンセール

In Japan, no rule sets the dates of the sales as in the West, so stores have the freedom to organize them when they arise.

Try your luck

Sales, often called clearance sales, take place in summer (July) and winter (January). And it is precisely during these two periods that the Japanese employee receives a bonus on his salary and spends more. Signs are sensitive to this and do everything to attract customers.

In January, sales are higher due to the custom of Hatsuuri (the first sale of the year) on the first opening day of the year, January 2. And let's not forget otoshidama, which promotes the participation of young people in the sales. The attractive prices allow you to shop cheaply during your trip to Japan.

Read: New Year's Day in Japan

There is also the very Japanese custom of fukubukuro, which takes place during the Hatsuuri sale, literally the "happiness bag"! This consists in selling a bag containing products whose value is sometimes 10 times greater than the purchase price of the bag, for example, a fukubukuro at 5,000 yen ($43.50/40€) costs a reasonable price but contains a total of products exceeding 50,000 yen ($430.50/400€)!. Sometimes disappointed because we cannot know the contents of the surprise bag, and even though we find ourselves with products that we do not need, the desire to try our luck is the strongest. There are often long lines in front of large and small stores offering this system.

The other sales periods are: at the opening of a new business, before its definitive closure, and before a work period. Professional Baseball teams are often owned by department stores thus when a team wins the pennant or a championship, the brand offers Celebration sales!

Read also: Baseball in Japan

Sales calendar

• January: Time for winter sales.
• February: This is the month when the spring/summer collections are put on the shelves, so winter clothes go on sale.
• March: To prepare for the school or business year, which begins in April, there are sales for costumes, but also household appliances and furniture because there are a lot of relocations.
• May: During Golden Week there are often promotions.
• July: These are the summer sales.
• December: At the very end of the month, it's Uritsukushi, the big destocking or year-end sales. The Japanese like to start a new year from scratch with new product lines!

To read: Osoji, the great Japanese cleaning

Good to know: in supermarkets at the end of the day, there are discounts on fresh produce and prepared meals such as sushi, salads or bento. It's very convenient and cost-saving! Ideal for travelers!