Life without beds in Japan (Japanese Culture Introduction in English #2)
2024 ж. 16 Нау.
66 651 Рет қаралды
Will you be surprised if you hear that some of us Japanese still don't like to sleep in bed? Well, younger people tend to like having a bed, but traditionally we have better items than beds to sleep with in our "bedroom." If you have a plan to stay especially at a Japanese-style inn, watching this brief video will help you understand our culture better and make your stay in Japan more enjoyable.
A Q&A follow-up video for this one:
• Q&A for "Life without ...
When my brother and I visited my grandparents in the province many years ago my grandparents sleeps on the floor with a mat even though they have bedrooms with beds. They prefer the floor and my brother and I would sleep with them. 😊. Thank you for this video💕
I’ve been sleeping on futon for several years now. I live in California and there is a large Japanese-American population here, the culture is celebrated. The futon has cured my insomnia that I have suffered most of my life. It was not easy to get out of the bed first thing in the morning but after about a week my muscles strengthened and I became accustomed to it. ❤❤❤
Good for you! Thank you for sharing your experience!!
can you tell what your insomnia is/was like and how it was cured, my poor bf wakes up in the middle of the night and takes hours to fall back asleep…
I just found this channel! I'm 63 and live in the northern state of Minnesota in the US. I sleep on a fold up tatami mat and a futon! Love it so much. It's been four years since I realized I prefer the floor, and the Japanese arrangement is perfect for me. I love the Japanese culture and the people. Very wise and deeply kind. Thank you so much for creating this channel! I've subscribed and will go appreciate past videos as well as looking forward to future new ones! I'm a fan. :)
Wow. We have no word to express this gratitude. We think your comment gives us & all the Japanese people stronger confidence in the culture. Yes, we truly love to help other people but a high language barrier always makes it difficult. Please look forward to our future videos. We say big thank you to you on behalf of our people.
The only problem i would have is getting up from the floor 😊
As a child in the deeply rural parts of my area of Canada my family slept on foam mattresses on the floor that we put away during the day. I was an adult before I ever slept on a spring bed.
Thank you! I loved your video. I was born in the U.S. and I prefer sleeping on the floor to anywhere else! I sleep so much better when I am not floating in the air. When I have my own home, I will have a bed on the floor, someday. Thank you again for sharing!
Can you explain what the set up should look like to do this safely? I moved into a place last year and I felt very leery about small bugs or things getting on or in your bedding. I’m in a ground floor unit and even though I keep my place spotless the building is old and I do see little bugs from time to time….
@@t.terrell7037 the bugs are also in beds. They climb.
I love everything about Japan. I want to visit Japan again. Thanks for your videos. I am your new subscriber!! ❤️
I just came across your channel and have subscribed. I enjoyed your video, especially your rolling around on the tatami. Although I am American and slept on western style beds growing up, I have been sleeping on futons for over 30 years now. I love Japanese culture and sense of humor. Thank you. I am looking forward to more videos.
Can you recommend a good setup for sleeping on a futon? Do you use a frame of any kind or are you just on the floor? Thanks
I loved seeing the "put away during the day" bedding that you use. I have always loved the idea of having a totally "convertible" bedroom. Lovely video. G Ire
If i got down on that mat no way could I get up
I slept on a futon when i was in japan, but it was on a wooden stand not a tatami mat. The best part was how they pinned the sheet to my cover i never lost it.
You guys are so cute! You lifted my spirit today.
Thank you!
I enjoyed this soo much! Sleeping this way actually makes a lot of sense!!
I live in the U.S. and I’ve been sleeping on a tatami mat and Japanese futon for 2 years now and I love it. I sleep so much better than I did on my regular bed. I got rid of my bed.
Looks great from a minimalistic point of view but perhaps not so ideal as you enter later life. Two bad knees I'm not sure I'd be able to get up again.
You need to put your feet on the floor and your hands on the futon on one side and lift your hips sideways then stand so the pressure is on your hips not your knees. As you start to stand you can put a hand, or both, on your thigh to help you push up if your hips aren't up to it.
When I was young my mother had a good-sized flattish rubber "water bottle" specifically made to be used in bed. She fill it with very warm water, close it, cover it with a towel & put it in bed with us if we were sick!
Thank you -what a lovely video! It was a pleasure to watch, and very interesting to learn more about your Japanese culture.
I slept on a futon on tatami mat for the first time while visiting Japan. I slept so well, much to my surprise! A few years ago, I considered trying to duplicate that experience in my own bedroom (U.S.) but, as you point out, tatami mats in the U.S. are very expensive, as are good quality Japanese futons. I stayed with my regular bed. But I look forward to again visiting Japan again someday, and having a good sleep, Japanese style!
Nice video @share-good-things ☮️ Thanks for sharing! I’ve slept on cotton futons on wooden slats, never with tatami mats. I think your room is beautiful, clean & spacious 🕊
I think us asians are used to this. I have better sleep in futons than in a bed plus it's not costly as to a Western-style bed where you have to invest in mattresses, bed frames, over head bed frames, etc. Though, i just leave the mattress and futon on the floor instead. Weekly or bi-weekly depends on the dust, i hang the futons, mattresses and pillows outside.
I use a folding mattress in my living room for all these reasons! 😍
Can you please tell me more? Is the living room where you sleep or does the bedding serve as both a bed and a sofa? Asking because I want to try something similar and get rid of my bed frame and mattresses.
@@t.terrell7037 (I removed my description because for wtvr reason u hadn't replied)
Very interesting! Thank you!
well i m doing that too simply because of space. i have a small apartment and i simply cant justify having to waste en entire room of space just because a bed.
Can you explain your setup? I’d like to try something similar.
Thank you! I bought a Japanese hot water bottle based on your recommendation. We shall see how it works!
What an enjoyable video! Hello from Michigan USA!
Hello! You're always welcomed!! We miss Pow Wow so much, BTW.
@@share-good-things Keep up the good work!
Beautiful! Great ideas! Thank you!
Thank yoou for sharing!
wonderful, i think i will try it. my bed is big & takes up a lot of room . thank you for the entertaining video.
The Japanese are so practical. I could get used to their kinds of beds. I certainly have no problem not wearing shoes inside, when I was 7 and we went to a Japanese restaurant in 1966 I had no problem adjusting to the very low to the floor table. My parents were both six footers so legroom wasn’t so great for them, but I’m small so I fit perfectly, and I learned with seconds how to use chopsticks. The absolute perfection of the Japanese with everything is just so awesome. Everything is so uncomplicated with them. They’re so awesome.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience related to Japan. Now cherry blossoms are about to bloom, which makes one of the best seasons for visitors. So, If you have a chance, please come visit and experience real Japan.
@@share-good-things you’re welcome. The Japanese restaurant my family went to when I was 7 in Washington D.C. was run by Japanese. All the staff were and it was the first time I ever saw a server wear a kimono. I bombarded her with questions. Mom tried to shut me up but the waitress loved answering my questions. I remember the streets of Washington with cherry blossoms in the trees and on the wet sidewalk. I never forgot it even after 58 years.
あなたたちとてもかわいいよ！おしえるありがとう！！😊
Loved sleeping on futons! Great video already subbed
Very nice!
Thank you, that was very interesting. I could easily sleep on a futon as I don't really like soft springy beds!
Thank you for your comment. Yeah, we totally recommend using futon for your better health!
Id never be able to get on the floor or up from the floor!
For that will be good to start sleeping on futon. You will be able.
Thank you! I am from Alabama. Very interesting for the back!
I want to visit Japan ❤
Now or never! Japanese yen is getting super-cheap recently.
I thought for so long that futon was something entirely unfamiliar. However after your explaination, I realise that we have very similar ways in South India. We have sleeping mats made of Korai grass similar to Tatmai mats and since its too hot in the summers here we will sleep on just the sleeping mat itself . We also have cotton stuffed soft mattresses which are rolled/folded up. Everyone in my University dorm used those kind of mattresses. Edit: spellcheck
Thank you for your comment & nice information. We didn't know anything about India, and now got very interested in the Koari mats that you mentioned. We'll visit India someday and check them out with our eyes. Question: what do you guys call the "cotton stuffed soft mattress"? Does it have a special name?
@@share-good-things I'm really sorry, but it's actually Korai. I made a typo. The mattress doesn't have any special name, as far as I know. But there are so many languages in India, so I cannot be sure if there is one in languages I'm unfamiliar with
@aleenaprasannan2146 It's very interesting to know that you guys have too many languages to recognize all of them in India. Thanks for the good information anyway!
Never having slept on the floor , however I sleep on a platform bed. The only difference looks to me , is that I’m higher and my mattress is of a denser different material composition. Actually, my mattress is old and sagging on the side that I always sleep on and needs to be replaced. A futon would be easy to keep clean and pretty free from dust mites, dead skin cells etc., IF kept and dusted off and clean on a daily basis. Maybe, there will come a time that one ( myself included) will give a futon floor bed a try. Thanks for info.
Thanks for your comment. We newly learned the existence of the item "platform bed" and the name "futon floor bed."
After seeing the size of the spiders in Japan, i'm not sure id'e sleep on the floor.
A raised bed will not protect you from spiders. They climb. You will be ok either way though as they aren't dangerous
@drivenmad7676 I grew up in the US in a desert where the *average* spider was the length of the palm of a womans hand. Trust me when I say having a bed off the ground will not prevent you from waking up with a spider on your bed. They can climb easily.
@@childofcascadia Heavy duty!!! That would drive me mad!!
I have a bed (it looks like you do too in the video), but I cannot sleep on mattresses. I hate them. I would like to try tatami, but I cannot afford that, so I use plywood.
Awesome...i have a japanese futon at home.
I had futons 46 years ago...They were great.
And I love there food
I am sorry but when my family visited Japan we stayed in a traditional house in Kyoto.I spent one night on these mats and my back was so sore.Thankfully there was one western bed in the house and the next night I thankfully sank onto it.
I was also in a traditional house, I slept the 3 weeks on the futon and was more comfortable that sleep in beds, and better for my back.
❤❤❤
I see that the quilts are inside sheets that have an oval opening on top. What are these called & where can we get them? 🙏🏽
They are called 'open-window kakebuton cover,' and I think you will find online stores for them after googling it. You can easily put your comforter (kakebuton) in & out through the hole on top!
@@share-good-things 🙏🏽
I wish i could shop for Asian textiles ect.
How do you use the Yutanpo ? Do you sleep sith it inside the futon ?
We usually put it near our feet, inside the futon, but you can place it wherever you want to. We can't sleep without it in winter: Yutanpo is so handy & comfy!
I love sleeping on the floor now, good idea .
Thank you for your comment. Yeah, you're right. Keep sleeping on the floor with futon, and recommend it to everyone else around you!!
👍👍. ❤️❤️❤️
A tatami and futon would be nice if someone else set it up and put it away..I am LAZY GIRL and leave my bed messy
I truly love the Japanese futon bedding style neat and hygienic 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
People with many physical disabilities cannot sleep this way but otherwise looks like a good option.
I wondered about this too. I'm disabled and live in the UK. I would be very interested in how disabled people from other cultures manage their homes in their country.
@Elizabeth Huh? I have partial hemiplegia and sleep on a futon on the floor. I just have a bar on the wall to use my non paralyzed side to help me stand. It works fine as long as you can support yourself with an arm or leg to get yourself up in your chair or get to your mobility device
@@childofcascadia That’s good. I can see how the bar would be helpful.
@@childofcascadia multiple sclerosis here, that's a good idea. Thank you!
No thanks. It looks like it takes forever to make and forever to put away. Plus, here in the "West," we understand that beds are there to show us where we don't have to vacuum, lol.
No can do
I work so hard ill sleep anywhere 🎉
The white piece is the futon? What is the darker piece?
Yes, the white pieces are futons (upper part is called "kakebuton & lower part "shikibuton), and the dark-brown one underneath the futons is a "high-resilience foam mattress."
I would hate that. I love my normal bed..
How do the elderly and people with disabilities cope with futons?
Thank you for asking. The earlier you get used to sleeping in futons, the easier it gets to cope with them even at later years in life. We highly recommend switching to futons with thinner mattresses ASAP.
Precisely the people that use futons have more mobility. If you stop getting up from the floor, you will have problems to do it.
Is there a way to elevate yourself if you have to for medical reasons. I'm talking about elevating your upper body!
We're sorry we don't know any... But we can say that thinner, less springy mattress should be better for your backbone.
You could probably buy a wedge shape foam for under you upper body.
There are tatami mats that have adjustable backs!
Greek subs please????????????????????????????????? Thank you
We switched the subs into Greek language. Give it a try.
No, thank you. I love my bed.
lol that water thing to warm feet in the winter my grand, grand, grand parents used in Europe. In which century you live? Sleeping on the floor? No central heating in house???
In the UK we regularly use hot water bottles in the bed, even though almost all houses have central heating. It gets cold and damp and not all houses are well insulated, so hot water bottles help reduce energy use and heating bills. And it's just cosy to snuggle with it in bed or sitting on the sofa in the evening with your blanket and hot water bottle. Our hot water bottles are made from natural rubber and we have soft covers for them.
its used also in these days. People like it because is cozy. They sleep on futons and live in xxI century.
@@Ssaidak well I live in Japan and my husband is Japanese. And I don’t know anyone here who still sleep on futon. They prefer beds because it’s more comfortable.
Those are beds.
Impossible d'écouter la voix..😮
I swap my bed for a Japanese futon bed any day
Without beds? A futon mattress IS a bed. A pile of leaves under your tent IS a bed. Japan uses beds. Simple as that.
A mattress without a bed under it.
Too much work. No, thank you.