Tracy, what a heartwarming story—and you made me laugh several times, too. Thank you! Here in the US I participate in the Buy Nothing Group on Facebook. It truly is a cool idea and nice way to cut out the middle person. In those groups, the poster chooses who gets the item, not on a first come first serve basis. I like that there are only 3 types of posts: Ask/Give/Gratitude. Are there Buy Nothing groups also in Tokyo?