An annual New Year event known throughout the country

There are many traditional New Year's events in Japan, such as New Year's visit to the New Year, beginning of writing, Nanakusa porridge, Kagami biraki, etc., but for the citizens of Sendai, the ''Sendai Hatsuuri'' is a New Year's tradition. Every year on January 2nd, you can see many locals and tourists enjoying shopping in the city center from early in the morning. It is so lively that many media outlets come to cover the event every year. Hatsuuri itself is held all over the country, but why is Sendai so famous?

The answer is that the content is very luxurious and affordable. As an example, at a long-established tea manufacturing and sales store that represents ''Sendai Hatsuri'', customers who purchase products in the store such as gift certificates and lucky bags are given a limited edition tea box filled with ''congratulations (prizes)'' as a token of gratitude. It started in 1935 with empty tea boxes, and later changed to the style of filling the tea boxes with prizes. There are three sizes: large, medium, and small. The large one, which only has a few pieces, contains the most items. In addition to tea and sweets, there are also electrical appliances inside.

In addition, each store has luxurious lucky bags and premium gift certificates, so it's fun to shop around.