When it comes to staples at summer festivals, school culture festivals, and kids’ club events, senbon-kuji (thousand-string lottery) is a must! Not only children but also adults get excited pulling the strings, wondering what prize they’ll win.
Why not try making your own senbon-kuji for a perfect memory-making activity? In this article, we’ll show you how to easily make a senbon-kuji using readily available materials like cardboard and mesh panels.
From compact versions that don’t take up much space to full-scale setups that can entertain large groups, we’ve got ideas to match the size of your event.
Step into the world of handmade senbon-kuji and bring festival fun anywhere!
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How to Make a Thousand-String Lottery with Everyday Materials! Fun DIY Ideas (1–10)
Thousand-lot lottery with doors
A senbon-kuji lottery with tons of treasures hanging down—snacks, toys, accessories, and more.
Don’t you think you’d prepare things that kids would love and get everything ready? Let us introduce a senbon-kuji with doors, where just seeing the dangling prizes would make you imagine children’s excited cheers.
Once you’ve set up the senbon-hiki mechanism, attach cardboard doors on the prize-display side.
When the doors open, everyone’s eyes will surely sparkle at the sight of the prizes.
Decorating the cardboard doors will make it look even nicer.
Senbon Lottery made from cardboard
Here’s an idea for making a “Senbon Kuji” lottery game out of cardboard.
It’s low-cost and easy to make, so feel free to use this as a reference and give it a try.
First, lay the box on its side and make holes in the top panel to thread strings through.
Cut a large hole in the top flap, and cut off the left, right, and bottom flaps.
On the left and right sides, cut out the panels, leaving only the frame.
Thread strings with prizes attached up through the holes in the ceiling, then pass them through the hole in the top flap and gather them together—that’s it! Decorate it in a lively, festival-like style.
A character-themed design might make it even more popular!
Just bundle the strings! Easy string lottery
Don’t you ever find preparing for events where children gather to be a lot of work? Here’s a recommendation for when you’re short on time: a simple string-draw lottery that only requires bundling strings.
In the classic ‘senbonbiki,’ prizes are attached to strings inside a box.
The string lottery introduced here doesn’t use a box.
Instead, you attach strings to the prizes, bundle the strings together, and participants pull one string from the bundle to win a prize.
Without a box, you can even enjoy guessing, ‘Maybe this string is a winner.’ It’s a string lottery packed with excitement—the thrill that you might pull the prize you’re aiming for.
Senbon Lottery Made with Mesh Panels
Let’s make a senbon-kuji (a Japanese string lottery) using mesh panels, which are commonly used for DIY projects! Prepare mesh panels sized to your desired dimensions and assemble them into a basket-like shape with the front and back open.
Then simply thread strings through the holes of the mesh panel attached at the top and tie on the prizes—done! Depending on the size of the mesh panels, it can end up quite large, so be sure to consider the available space when making it.
A senbon-kuji made with mesh panels is easy to store after use by disassembling it into separate parts, and you can reuse it again next time!
A thousand-lottery you just line up in a box
This is a super easy Senbon-kuji (string lottery) you can make by simply arranging prizes in a box.
Prepare a box that can hold all the prizes.
Then just attach strings to the prizes and line them up inside the box—that’s it! You can make it with things you already have at home, so it’s perfect for hosting a little festival at home.
The larger the box, the more prizes you can fit inside, so adjust the size to match the scale of the festival or event where you’ll run the lottery.
It’s also easy for kids to help with, making it a great idea for children’s groups or fun get-togethers.