I ordered the twin sized shiki futon directly from the J-Life website. Amazingly, it arrived the day after I ordered it! (I live in Boston.) This was awesome, as I was previously just sleeping on the floor. It arrived rolled up in a 17"x17"x40" box, so I guess it will need a pretty big crate to store it in during the day. It's very comfortable, and seems good quality, so I have no complaints.
My only concern is I think I probably paid too much for the futon. I had considered the $75 A&D Futon Furniture 3" futon (Brand New Gray Traditional Japanese Floor Futon Mattresses, Foldable Cushion Mats, Yoga, Meditaion.), but decided to go with the more J-Life brand to be safe. Since I didn't get the A&D futon, I can't speak to the comparison, but I do think you may be able to get the same futon as sold here for a cheaper price elsewhere. The American manufacturer who makes the J-Life shikifuton is Standard Mattress Co. (the manufacturers of Gold Bond futon mattresses) from Hartford, CT, according to tags on the shikifuton. Thus I imagine that these 4" all-cotton futons from Gold Bond are probably identical to the J-Life "shikifuton," but considerably cheaper, around $100:
Gold Bond 604 4" All Cotton Futon Mattress Mattress Size: Twin
On the tag, it identifies the model as 060425-0110, and the prototype ID as 613, and also says 60425 J-Life on it. I don't know how/if it differs from the Gold Bond 604 mattresses linked above.
Conflict of interest:
I'm not associated with any of the sellers linked above; I'm just an obsessive comparison shopper, and thought this might help someone save some money.
I absolutely love my futon. I dislocated my knee cap and so was unable to get into my loft bed. I had wanted this futon, anyway, and it has been awesome. I sleep on my back and I don't move at night, so this works for me. I have to kind of shake it a bit so that it fluffs back out after I've slept on it awhile, but it's much better than the mattress I have. I'm also 5' tall, so it's not too short for me, but someone taller may want a larger size. My futon is on my carpeted floor and I've been sleeping on it like this for over a month now. I have no complaints! Oh, and this is much different from your other types of futon mattresses. It's not too hard like others. It's closer to like the ones I slept on in Japan, though not quite as soft, but I also don't have a tatami mat underneath.
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I bought this mattress so that my godson, who loves everything Japanese, would be comfortable when he visits my house. Well, I ended up sleeping on it myself (long story) for a week, and I slept like a baby. The mattress was right on the wood floor. I put a moderately thick featherbed on top of it, but I always like those. The mattress was so comfortable that I slept as well or better than on my regular organic cotton mattress. If you need a mattress that can fold up for tight storage, I highly recommend this one. You could even sleep on it every night. The directions say that it may take several weeks for the vacuum-packed mattress to fluff up completely, but you certainly don't need to wait more than a couple of days to sleep soundly on it. It smelled a little like straw or hay when I opened the package, but the smell went away within a few days.
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This is clearly a well-made product. I like that it's all cotton...all natural components. If you like sleeping on a firm surface or mattress then you will like this. I've had this mattress for about 3 months and it seems to me that it is well filled with cotton...enough so that I can't see it flattening-out, or the contents shifting, any time soon, if ever.
This is larger than I was expecting...larger than what I'd expect a 'twin' futon to be. It's wider than I as a petite female really need. As a result, between the depth of this mattress and the somewhat large width, this is a very hefty mattress.
I planned to use this mattress solely for when I need an extra bed for guests etc. Simply folding this bed in thirds is not exactly simple. It does require a bit of maneuvering mainly because of the weight and bulk. Also, if you actually need to MOVE this futon, say from a closet or other storage space, to an open floor space in another room well.....it can be quite difficult to do. This is simply a very heavy, thick, awkward item to carry. I was actually heaving and having to periodically stop and take a breathe, just to move this futon from one room to another room.
I had written the manufacturer to suggest that they should really add some sturdy handles to the sides of this futon to aid in lifting/carrying it, but they never did acknowledge my email. (In another instance I had ordered an accompanying tri-fold foam mattress to go under my shiki futon, also from this same company. Again, a complete lack of communication from them afer I placed my order. Two whole weeks passed and not a word on when the item might be shipped. I order stuff online all the time and stuff is often shipped the very next day and if not, then you get a notice to update you. I contacted J-Life three separate times and they acted like I was being 'unreasonable' for asking for the status of my item and they said there was 'nothing wrong'...that they just need to check with the supplier. It's now been almost three weeks and still no indication of when the item might be shipped. I guess it was never actually 'in stock' to begin with. Would have been nice if they had said that right up front.)
Also, I wanted to have a whole nice Japanese-style futon setup.... I ordered the shikifuton cover, as well as a kakefuton (comforter), all covered in matching Japanese fabric as offered by J-Life. I also had a buckwheat pillow for which I ordered additional fabric from J-Life, in order to make a matching pillow cover. I love how everything is now covered in a beautiful Japanese fabric design.
Since I like a coordinated look, I considered the fabric covers as 'sheets', and so everytime I have a guest I have to wash the zippered covers for everything. (In other words, I don't use other traditional Western style bedsheets with my futon, as they would not perfectly match the fabrics on the shiki and kake futons. So the zippered covers ARE essentially the bedsheets.) Removing the covers each time to wash them, and then putting them back on is an exhaustive process, again, because of how heavy and bulky everything is. J-Life only offers a full-size kakefuton....no single size. So for a single person like myself to remove the covers, put them back on, fold the futon up when not in use, move to a closet, etc..... it is a serious physical workout! I wish they offered matching traditional bedsheets so that I could simply throw those in the washing machine, while leaving the zippered covers on the shiki and kakefutons.
I'm curious what other people do with these...do they just use traditional bedsheets that may not necessarily match the futon fabrics they have?
While for the most part this futon is comfortable, there ARE times while I am sleeping, where I can sense the hardness of the floor underneath, and at those times I have to roll over on to my other side, or my back, to alleviate any discomfort. Part of this could be because I am on the thin/bony side. Perhaps a person with more meat on them would not have this issue. ;-) As such, I decided to later purchase the tri-fold foam mattress to put underneath the futon. I'm hoping it will help make the bed even more comfortable!
So to summarize...a well-made futon, and generally comfortable, but expect it to be a struggle to lift/move it/take off the covers to wash them, especially if you are a petite female. I would imagine that a full-size futon would absolutely require two persons to lift/move it together. And while J-Life offers nice products, their customer service is not very responsive.
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this futon is so comfortable and the natural fibers smell heavenly. It's so relaxing to lay on for an afternoon nap.
I purchased my pillow from Brookstone over 9 years ago. I needed it for the neck support. My pillow has held up for all these years with no problem. The material in this pillow works with the heat from your body to mold to the shape of your body. If you like to sleep on a cold pillow, this pillow is not for you. I recently purchased a new tempur-pedic thinking that the new pillow will have more support as this material over time degrades and will not bounce back into shape as quickly.
