Japanese Futon versus Western bed

[Zauriel]

Which is better? Which do you like better? futons or beds?

[nice gaijin]

I sleep on an American futon on a frame; it's a far cry from a Japanese futon, but with my memory foam mattress topper, it's quite comfortable. I do not care much for springs.

A Japanese futon on a real tatami mat isn't too bad, but it is still a bit on the hard side for my liking. Put a layer of foam between me and the ground and I'm a happy camper.

[xerxes99]

I use a futon and a foam pad on my tatami, and It's really comfortable. I like it better than a bed.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

I use a folding type bed.
I spread futon on a bed.
http://www.akart-shop.com/img_b/009.jpg

When I clean a room, it is convenient

[Revenant]

The futon. I prefer something not quite so soft, and a futon on the floor isn't soft, and less likely to give me backpain in the morning. I also am not big on springs.

[Mikawa Ossan]

I sleep every night on a futon.

My parents came to visit last New Year's for the first time. We were a little worried about my father sleeping on a futon, as he has back problems, but he said that he slept like a baby, so I guess futon have his vote, too!

I remember a long time ago trying to buy a futon in America. I ended up giving up, because they were all way too thick. The store clerk thought I was crazy for trying to get a paper-thin futon!

[512kb]

I prefer futons. I used to have a huge bunk bed that was very uncomfortable and took up huge space! Plus it would creak with every single move... I sold it and got a futon, and I love it. It's saves a lot of space, no creaky-ness, and I sleep very well on it every night.

[Kyoko_desu]

I voted for "both" because I think both of them have very nice points.
Futon is good if you have a small house, because it's folded and put away in a closet in daytime and you can have a space to do something. Another good point is you don't have to worry about falling off futon, because it's already on the floor.
A bed is good if you have an elderly or sick family to care for at home, especially when you need to help him/her up, to help him/her with a position change, or to change his/her pajamas or a diaper. If he/she is lieing down on a futon, you have to bend even further to do those actions and you have more risk of hurting your back.
OK now, which one do I really like to sleep in (on)? Ummm, I really don't care, I could sleep anywhere, like on a train, in a car, wherever!! hehehe

[ArmandV]

On my last trip to Japan, I slept on a bed in Tokyo and a futon in Sendai. Of the two, I slept better on the futon. I sleep on a bed at home, but I may be switching to a futon. The bed in Tokyo was too hard.

[MeAndroo]

Wow, so much futon love.

I think there's something to be said for not having to get up off the ground in the morning. I also enjoy the act of flopping down onto my bed, something that probably wouldn't be a good idea on a futon, even if it is placed on tatami. I like the way a bed offers a bit of give as you move around in it, since I have a tendency to toss and turn until I'm absolutely comfortable in the way my body is hitting the bed and the pillow.

I've slept in a futon on a number of occasions, and while I haven't had the chance to do it for many consecutive nights, I can tell I enjoy a good bed more.

[DoctorP]

You can also check this older thread about who uses a futon:
Do You Sleep on a Futon? (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4422&highlight=futon)

[Mars Man]

For all the illogicality that the answer imposed upon the question, I like both better than both.

To give real, hard-core meaning to the term 'okiru' (get up) you'll have vote for the futon. To reap the fullest possible experience from a lazy night's sleep in the Japanese countryside, in the height of summer, you'd have to go for a futon.

With priviledge of time spent walking the face of the earth under the belt, you'd probably settle with a less figurative 'get up' in the morning, and vouch for the bed. For the lazy at heart, who yet want to keep their room's rather tidy and well vaccumed, who want to reduce the risk of mites and mildew, the bed would make their lives' tight schedules easier to manage.

When your sleeping with your mate, but not sleeping, you can go with the mood--the futon for that exotic freedom to wander, to escape from the more imposed inhibitations of space; the bed for the virtual reality of becoming the notes on the sheet of music that are freeing themselves from the DC or MD or whatever source. Of course, I voted for both, because they are both better than nothing. MM

[Uncle Frank]

The futons sold in Maine are about 6 inches thick and weigh a ton. Mine feels just like it is filled with beach sand! I have it on a wooden frame to lift it about 12 inches off the floor; at my age, I can't get up from something to low to the floor. I like it much better then a box spring.

Uncle Frank

:-)

[pika la]

Neither!

I don't like beds because I toss and turn a lot and they always squeek or bump the wall or something. I do like to just fall back onto a bed though, usually after a tiresome day, face first. ^^;

I don't like futons (on tatami or not) as I find them fairly hard and un-cozy. Though I have yet to try tatami+foam mat+futon..

My vote goes to the SUPER thick "American Futon." I have slept on one of those since I was little..no frame, just on the floor, and I find that it's VERY comfortable and cozy.

[misa.j]

The futons sold in Maine are about 6 inches thick and weigh a ton.
Those are the only kind I can find in the US, some with a foam in the middle, but I prefer all-cotton type.

It was kind of funny to see this thread because I've been having a trouble with returning a futon I had just bought, which was compressed down to almost 1 inch thick after two weeks.
The company I bought it from is refusing to admit that it is defective and doesn't want to give my money back.:okashii:

[Dutch Baka]

When you have sex on a futon you don't hear the futon move, when you have sex on a bed, you hear the bed moving.

So I like sex on a futon :D

[nice gaijin]

When you have sex on a futon you don't hear the futon move, when you have sex on a bed, you hear the bed moving.
So I like sex on a futon :D
Hmm, I suppose the question wasn't limited to which is better for sleeping.

I like jumping on spring mattresses more than futons :)

[godppgo]

When you have sex on a futon you don't hear the futon move, when you have sex on a bed, you hear the bed moving.
So I like sex on a futon :D

But you lose the elasticity the spring of the bed provides! :-)

[leonmarino]

When you have sex on a futon you don't hear the futon move, when you have sex on a bed, you hear the bed moving.
So I like sex on a futon :D
For such purposes, I like using my COUCH!! (seriously):blush:

But for sleeping, I voted both. When I'm in Japan I love sleeping on futons and waking up with the smell of tatami.. But as I don't have tatami in my house and "real" futons here are mighty expensive, and beds require less maintenance, a nice bed will do it for me.

[yukio_michael]

I like sleeping on the floor w/ someone next to me in a futon better than I like sleeping next to someone in a bed... more room to move around, and it felt nice to lie on the tatami mats... I wish they were brand new though...

That said, I sleep on a bed now. Alone.

[werewolf]

I sleep on a Thermarest.

http://www.thermarest.com/

[Maciamo]

There are so many different qualities of mattress an futons that it is difficult to choose. But I found that there were much more choices in material (foam, springs, bultex, latex, tempur...), thickness, hardnes/softness, etc. in mattresses than in futon. So my vote goes for mattresses.

[Maciamo]

The futons sold in Maine are about 6 inches thick and weigh a ton. Mine feels just like it is filled with beach sand! I have it on a wooden frame to lift it about 12 inches off the floor; at my age, I can't get up from something to low to the floor. I like it much better then a box spring.
Uncle Frank
:-)
So what's the difference with a mattress then, if it's as thick and on a frame ? Maybe that's a Japanese-style mattress - usually mistakenly called "futon" in Western shops of Japanese home decoration.

[Tsuyoiko]

I have only slept on a futon on a frame on holiday - it was OK, but too thin to sleep on forever. I have never slept on a futon straight on the floor. I have slept on a mattress and an airbed on the floor, but I don't like to have my face so near to the ground. It doesn't seem very hygenic. In Japan I guess it's OK since everyone takes off their shoes!

I sleep in a wooden framed bed with a hard sprung mattress. I don't like soft mattresses.

[Flanker]

I think that they both have advantages, but I tend to prefer futons, because they are easeier to move when cleaning my bedroom, and in my opinion, they are more comfortable.

[nice gaijin]

Maybe that's a Japanese-style mattress - usually mistakenly called "futon" in Western shops of Japanese home decoration.I didn't know they were referred to as "Japanese-style mattresses," all this time I've just called them American futons!

[sabro]

We had a matress that I always called a futon. It was heavy, too as Frank described. It was on a platform with little legs. I loved it. But after 20 years it just started disintegrating.

We have a firm matress on the wooden frame-- but I had to take the legs off. Now I have to buy a new matress and platform. The matress thing tends to move more.

[GroglovesJapan]

I much prefer the origional Japanese futon to anything else iv ever slept on and Im currently trying to track down a few more tatami mats and japanese bedding..

I find western style futons really unconfortable and matresses just are not matching my needs anymore.

[Mike Cash]

In the wintertime, I typically spend most nights sleeping directly on the floor, no futon, no nuthin.

Why? Simple.

It's so damned hard to get up from a warm comfy bed/futon in the winter that I am daily in danger of being majorly late for work. So to prevent that, I deliberately sleep in conditions which are more miserable than the alternative of getting up.

[DoctorP]

Now I have heard/read everything!

[leonmarino]

I perfectly understand what Mike Cash is saying. I used to sleep on the couch for a while because that way I didn't need to get up and walk to the living room, as I was already there!

[DoctorP]

Don't get me wrong, I understand his reason...it's just that I have always pictured Mike as a hard worker with this unbelievable work ethic...

Now I find out that he is actually normal!

[Mike Cash]

Don't get me wrong, I understand his reason...it's just that I have always pictured Mike as a hard worker with this unbelievable work ethic...

Now I find out that he is actually normal!

I'm the original "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go" guy. In the unlikely event that I should ever be able to retire, you'll find me in a small and unkempt houseboat on the Tennessee River avoiding anything even remotely resembling labor. Phone ahead for reservations, as I don't plan to be easy to find.

[Maciamo]

I much prefer the origional Japanese futon to anything else iv ever slept on and Im currently trying to track down a few more tatami mats and japanese bedding..
I find western style futons really unconfortable and matresses just are not matching my needs anymore.

How many kinds of mattresses and what types have you actually tried ? Tempur (http://www.eupedia.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=230832) anyone ?

[osias]

What about this type? It looks so cool.

[leonmarino]

How many kinds of mattresses and what types have you actually tried ? Tempur (http://www.eupedia.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump.cgi?ID=230832) anyone ?
Hm.. To my knowledge I have only had IKEA mattresses.. Nothing wrong with those though.

But hammocks.. They're the best! It feels so nice to just hang in mid-air and doze off..

[DoctorP]

What about this type? It looks so cool.


That is a hammock. It is nice to rest in, but sleeping in one for an extended period gets old. I lived in one for 45 days once.

[Maciamo]

Hm.. To my knowledge I have only had IKEA mattresses.. Nothing wrong with those though.
I have tried all the mattresses in store at IKEA a few months ago, and I have to say that they are pure cr*p compared to real brand mattreses. I wouldn't have taken their most expensive one even for free.

[Minty]

I have only slept on a futon on a frame on holiday - it was OK, but too thin to sleep on forever. I have never slept on a futon straight on the floor. I have slept on a mattress and an airbed on the floor, but I don't like to have my face so near to the ground. It doesn't seem very hygenic. In Japan I guess it's OK since everyone takes off their shoes!
I sleep in a wooden framed bed with a hard sprung mattress. I don't like soft mattresses.

Same here, I bought a futon from IKEA for my mother when she visited me from Australia, and she complaint of back pain and that it’s low.

Yes we know "IKEA" is not a high quality furniture store but it is supposed to be acceptable cause in France there is a store called "BUT" which is really the low quality store. And it is a once off thing. :bluush:

She likes high beds. Since she is short we changed it back into the sofa position which she likes better. My mum says even Japanese like Western style beds but this poll shows otherwise but then again there are not that many Japanese in here. Or maybe it is just the opinions of the Japanese my grandparents got hold of; this does not mean there are no Japanese who prefer their futons, of course.