(notebook entries by onlookers and participants):

Okuno Yoshiko (with daughter Kana):
I lived in Toronto for 3 years. I was surprised that the department stores were closed on Sundays. We used the day to take lunch to a nearby island and spend a day doing nothing at all, just sitting in the grass. On the island, there were no shops, not even a vending machine. That was so much fun, to spend a day without money-- a real luxury.

Katsui Mari (writer, tour guide):
In the world, there is too much that's not needed.
Machines with too many functions
Too much information
Too much stuff…
We need this kind of holiday- a time to come back to ourselves.

Yamazaki Kayoko (English teacher, mother)
Every year when this day comes around, I think about my way of living, the world in which I live… I pray that the thoughts that come out of Buy Nothing Day help people to be better to each other, to the planet, and be connected to each other in peace. This is for me one of the most important days of the year.