Japanese budget carrier Peach Aviation has launched the latest edition of its lucky-dip travel lottery to a handful of destinations around Japan. Customers who take part in the 'tabikuji' (lucky trip fortunes) won't know exactly where they are flying until drawing a destination. Simple Flying takes a closer look at this fascinating concept below.

Destination lottery

Peach Aviation, a subsidiary of Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways, has revealed its lottery-style travel concept involving a Japanese fortune reading to reveal your mystery destination.

The tabikuji, which translates to 'lucky trip fortunes,' will see travelers take a numbered stick and receive their fortune from a lottery ticket office. The concept borrows from Japanese omikuji fortune slips, found at Buddhist and Shinto shrines across the country.

Each fortune will reveal a code for JPY 6,000 ($44) worth of the airline's Peach Points, which can be redeemed for a Peach flight to the mystery destination. In some cases, lucky travelers will bag themselves a JPY 10,000 ($74) lot of Peach Points.

Each fortune is priced at JPY 5,000 ($37) and will be available to purchase between August 10th and November 18th. The first 50 customers to purchase a fortune were gifted peaches sourced from Kyotango, Kyoto, a city famed for its longevity and good health.

Interested travelers can take part by purchasing fortunes at one of four locations in Tokyo - Nishi Ginza Chance Center (Ginza, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo), Yaesu Underground Mall Chance Center (Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), Tachikawa Chance Center (Tachikawa, Tokyo), and Tachikawa Lumine Chance Center (Tachikawa, Tokyo).

11 domestic destinations

There are 11 possible domestic destinations involved in the lottery, including Memanbetsu, Kushiro, Sapporo (New Chitose), Osaka (Kansai), Fukuoka, Oita, Nagasaki, Miyazaki, Amami, Okinawa (Naha), and Ishigaki. All flights will be based out of Tokyo Narita Airport.

Peach Aviation currently offers a network of 33 domestic and 17 international routes with its fleet of 35 Airbus A320-family aircraft.

Travelers will also receive a 'mission' based on their destination in order to bring about good luck. An example mission involves "stuffing both cheeks with takoyaki and smile with squinted eyes like the statue of Ebisu while you test your luck by buying a lottery ticket at the Fuse Poppo Avenue Chance Center."

A follow-up lottery draw will take place on December 1st which will see one lucky winner gifted JPY100,000 ($743) worth of lottery tickets.

Vending machine lottery

Peach Aviation made headlines in 2021 after launching a similar lottery-style concept, this time involving vending machines. While slightly different from this year's edition, passengers would also receive a mystery destination and redeemable airline points.

The Tabikuji Travel Fortune machines, installed at two locations in Tokyo and Osaka, contained capsules that would grant Peach Points to participants, along with the name of a random airport. Starting at JPY 6,000 worth of Peach Points, lucky travelers could find even better prizes such as round-trip flights.