Single mattresses in Japan for living alone: 5 picks from ¥20,498

Single mattress in Japan: five from 10 to 21 cm thick, foam or pocket coil
Returns: NELL refunds in full for 120 days; GOKUMIN takes notice within seven days
Warranty: Magniflex 10 years on the core, GOKUMIN Premium 8 years, Grand one year

The five

Best for	Where to get it	Score	Street price, incl. tax
Choose firmness by number — 140N, 170N or 280N — with 96% recovery after 80,000 cycles — if you can’t decide	Motton high-resilience mattress See price	81/100	¥44,800 (street price)
Tri-fold at about 7 kg, with a ten-year warranty on the core	Magniflex Mesh Wing See price	80/100	¥47,300 (street price)
Pocket coils in the ¥20,000s with an eight-year warranty — about ¥3,100 a year	GOKUMIN Premium spring mattress, 20 cm See price	73/100	¥24,898 (street price)
A full refund within 120 days, even bought on Rakuten — and 100,000 test cycles	NELL mattress See price	72/100	¥79,900 (street price)
Swap its 180N and 250N layers to change the firmness — about 7.5 kg, in the ¥20,000s	GOKUMIN Premium Grand mattress (tri-fold) See price	72/100	¥20,498 (street price)

These are sold on Rakuten Ichiba, which generally ships within Japan only, and they run on Japanese mains power (100V, 50/60Hz). They suit a home in Japan rather than a suitcase.

Choose firmness by number — 140N, 170N or 280N — with 96% recovery after 80,000 cycles

Motton high-resilience mattress

Japanese-made urethane foam (Nano Three), density 30D
Soft 140N: 45 kg or less; Regular 170N: 46–80 kg; Hard 280N: 81 kg or more

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

Three firmnesses — Soft 140N, Regular 170N, Hard 280N — with a body-weight guide
96% recovery after an 80,000-cycle durability test at the third-party lab Boken
One piece, 10 cm thick and about 7.5 kg; the outer cover comes off to wash
Right for: Wanting to choose a firmness by number, to match your weight.
Not for: Buying on Rakuten Ichiba and sending it back if it does not suit you — the Rakuten store refunds nothing for a change of mind.
Worth knowing: The money-back guarantee you apply for after 90 nights, and the one-time firmness exchange (¥4,500 delivery fee), are described in the purchase guide on Motton’s own site. Its Rakuten Ichiba store does not refund for reasons such as how it feels. The foam itself cannot be washed in water.

Score breakdown — 81/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★☆	An 80,000-cycle test at the third-party lab Boken, with 96% recovery, publishes both cycles and result in figures, for four stars. Sagging is exchanged within three years of purchase (¥4,500 delivery fee) — neither ten years nor one, so no change
Value for money	★★★☆☆	¥44,800 for a single on Rakuten Ichiba earns three (¥30,000 to under ¥50,000). Over a three-year warranty that is about ¥14,933 a year, so no extra point
Easy to live with	★★★★★	From three: firmness given as 140N, 170N and 280N adds one, and about 7.5 kg for a single, 10 kg or less, adds another
Trust	★★★☆☆	The Rakuten Ichiba store refunds nothing for a change of mind (how it feels, ordering the wrong one), for two stars. 6,536 Rakuten Ichiba reviews averaging 4.45 add one
Only here	★★★★★	The only one of the seven to offer three firmnesses in newtons (140N, 170N, 280N) with a body-weight guide, and to publish its durability result as a recovery figure (96%) (+2)

Tri-fold at about 7 kg, with a ten-year warranty on the core

Magniflex Mesh Wing

Italian high-resilience foam (Eliocell)
The breathable mesh cover unzips for washing
Folds in three: down on the floor at night, away by day

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

A tri-fold of 11 cm Eliocell high-resilience foam; the single is 97 × 198 cm
About 7 kg — the lightest of the seven compared
Passed the German LGA durability test; ten years’ warranty against indentation of the core
Right for: Laying it on the floor and folding it away during the day.
Not for: Choosing firmness by number (no N figure is published), or returning it after use.
Worth knowing: Neither a firmness figure (N) nor the number of cycles and result of the durability test is published. The warranty covers indentation of the core only — not mould, stains, damage from use or the cover — and you need the warranty card that comes with it.

Score breakdown — 80/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★☆	Says it passed the German LGA durability test but gives no cycles or result, for three stars; ten years’ warranty against indentation of the core adds one
Value for money	★★★★☆	¥47,300 for a single on Rakuten Ichiba earns three (¥30,000 to under ¥50,000). Over a ten-year warranty that is ¥4,730 a year, for one more
Easy to live with	★★★★☆	From three: no N figure, so no point; about 7 kg for a single, 10 kg or less, adds one
Trust	★★★★☆	The authorised dealer with the most Rakuten Ichiba reviews (Futon Tsuhan Nemuri Sapuri) takes change-of-mind returns only unopened, unused and within eight days of delivery, for three stars. 4,113 Rakuten Ichiba reviews averaging 4.60 add one
Only here	★★★★☆	The lightest of the seven at about 7 kg, and a tri-fold that still carries a ten-year warranty on the core (+1)

Pocket coils in the ¥20,000s with an eight-year warranty — about ¥3,100 a year

GOKUMIN Premium spring mattress, 20 cm

Arrives in a gift box with the warranty card
The ¥3,100 a year uses the cheapest single price on Rakuten Ichiba

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

20 cm of pocket coils, with 32D, 180N high-resilience urethane inside
An eight-year maker’s quality warranty from purchase
A Lumbar Support+ version with reinforced coils at the waist
Right for: Choosing pocket coils on the balance between warranty and price.
Not for: Carrying it about on your own (about 22 kg for a single), or choosing on durability-test figures.
Worth knowing: No durability-test result is given on the product page. Returns follow the same GOKUMIN brand store rules as the Grand mattress: tell them within seven days of delivery and an unopened mattress is refunded less the delivery charge, an opened one at 50%.

Score breakdown — 73/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★☆☆☆	No durability test on the product page, for two stars. An eight-year quality warranty is neither ten years nor one, so no change
Value for money	★★★★★	¥24,898 for a single on Rakuten Ichiba earns four (¥20,000 to under ¥30,000). Over an eight-year warranty that is about ¥3,112 a year, for one more
Easy to live with	★★★☆☆	From three: the urethane inside is given as 180N, adding one, but about 22 kg for a single, over 20 kg, takes one away
Trust	★★★★★	Tell the shop within seven days of delivery and it refunds 50% of the price even after the box is opened (unopened, less the delivery charge), for four stars. 4,022 Rakuten Ichiba reviews averaging 4.63 add one
Only here	★★★★☆	About ¥3,112 per year of warranty, the cheapest of the seven (+1)

A full refund within 120 days, even bought on Rakuten — and 100,000 test cycles

NELL mattress

Small-diameter pocket coils; both sides and both ends can be slept on
Firmer coils sit in the centre, where you push off to turn over
Sold through NELL’s own Rakuten Ichiba store

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

A full refund with free return shipping between 14 and 120 days after delivery
Passed a JIS-standard durability test applying 102 kg 100,000 times
Sagging of 3 cm or more replaced free for ten years
Right for: Wanting to find out at home, across a change of season, whether it suits you before committing.
Not for: Keeping the budget around ¥30,000, or choosing firmness by number (no N figure is published).
Worth knowing: The single is 95 × 195 × 21 cm and about 22 kg, which is heavy to move alone. Returns for reasons unrelated to comfort, such as the wrong size or colour, are not accepted. Delivery to the main island of Okinawa costs extra, and other outlying islands are not served.

Score breakdown — 72/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★★	Passed a JIS-standard test applying 102 kg 100,000 times, with no sagging, deflection or broken coils — cycles and result both published, for four stars. A ten-year free replacement for sagging of 3 cm or more adds one
Value for money	★☆☆☆☆	¥79,900 for a single on Rakuten Ichiba earns one (¥70,000 or more). ¥7,990 per year of warranty is ¥5,000 or more, so no extra point
Easy to live with	★★☆☆☆	From three: no N figure, so no point; about 22 kg for a single, over 20 kg, takes one away
Trust	★★★★★	Even from its official Rakuten Ichiba store, it can be returned after use for a full refund between 14 and 120 days after delivery, with free return shipping, for five stars. 129 Rakuten Ichiba reviews is under 1,000, so no extra point
Only here	★★★★★	The only one of the seven you can buy on Rakuten Ichiba, sleep on and still get a full refund, with a ten-year free replacement for sagging of 3 cm or more as well (+2)

Swap its 180N and 250N layers to change the firmness — about 7.5 kg, in the ¥20,000s

GOKUMIN Premium Grand mattress (tri-fold)

The reversible cover is knit on one side, mesh on the other
The shop says the combinations come to 27 to try
A Lumbar Support version uses 35D, 280N urethane under the waist

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

34D high-resilience urethane in two layers, 180N and 250N
Swap the layers and flip the reversible cover to change firmness and feel
A single tri-fold of 97 × 195 × 10 cm, about 7.5 kg
Right for: Spending around ¥20,000 and adjusting the firmness yourself.
Not for: Choosing on a long warranty or durability-test figures — the warranty is one year and no test is listed.
Worth knowing: No durability-test result is given on the product page. Change-of-mind returns require notice within seven days of delivery, and you pay the return shipping (no need to send it back if you provide proof of disposal).

Score breakdown — 72/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★☆☆☆☆	No durability test on the product page, for two stars. A one-year quality warranty takes one away
Value for money	★★★★☆	¥20,498 for a single on Rakuten Ichiba earns four (¥20,000 to under ¥30,000). Over a one-year warranty that is ¥20,498 a year, so no extra point
Easy to live with	★★★★★	From three: firmness given as 180N and 250N adds one, and about 7.5 kg for a single, 10 kg or less, adds another
Trust	★★★★★	Tell the shop within seven days of delivery and it refunds 50% of the price even after the box is opened (unopened, less the delivery charge), for four stars. 4,246 Rakuten Ichiba reviews averaging 4.54 add one
Only here	★★★★☆	The only one of the seven where two layers of different firmness (180N and 250N) can be swapped to change the firmness of one mattress (+1)

Know before you buy

Only one of the five refunds in full after you have slept on it when bought on Rakuten Ichiba: NELL, between 14 and 120 days after delivery, with free return shipping. Motton’s 90-day money-back guarantee applies only when you buy on its own site.
Firmness is given in newtons (N) for urethane foam — the higher the number, the firmer. Motton offers 140N, 170N and 280N with a body-weight guide; GOKUMIN’s Grand mattress stacks 180N and 250N layers. NELL and Magniflex publish no N figure.
Durability figures vary widely. NELL passed 100,000 cycles at 102 kg (a JIS-standard test); Motton showed 96% recovery after 80,000 cycles at the third-party lab Boken; Magniflex passed Germany’s LGA test without publishing numbers; GOKUMIN lists no test.
Warranties run from one year to twelve. Divide the price by the warranty and it costs from about ¥3,112 a year (GOKUMIN’s pocket coil, eight years) to ¥20,498 (GOKUMIN’s Grand, one year).
Weight decides how you live with it. The tri-fold foam mattresses weigh about 7 to 7.5 kg and fold away off the floor by day; the pocket coils are about 22 kg.
All five are sold on Rakuten Ichiba, which delivers within Japan.

How we chose: theme, conditions, scoring

How we chose

Candidates: 54
Met every condition below: 11
Kept: five, each the best at something different

Conditions (all of them, not most of them)

Made in a single size (95–100 cm wide, 195–198 cm long)
A core of high-resilience urethane foam or pocket coils — excluding those with a low- or medium-resilience surface layer, fibre cores, continuous springs and Bonnell coils
At least 10 cm thick — no toppers or mattress pads
A new single available on Rakuten Ichiba for under ¥100,000
A warranty (quality or durability) stated in years on the official site or the Rakuten Ichiba product page
At least 30 reviews on Rakuten Ichiba (summed across the top 30 listings when searching by product name)

Scoring

Five criteria, one to five stars each, weighted to one hundred points. Every star says where the number came from.

Quality25 pts
- Set by what is published on durability: a test with the number of cycles and the result in figures is four stars, a statement that a test was passed is three, no test mentioned is two. Add one if the warranty against sagging or the core is ten years or more; drop one if it is a single year. Five stars at most, one at least.
Value for money20 pts
- The cheapest price for a new single, mattress only, on Rakuten Ichiba: under ¥20,000 is five stars, ¥20,000 to under ¥30,000 four, ¥30,000 to under ¥50,000 three, ¥50,000 to under ¥70,000 two, ¥70,000 or more one. Add one if that price divided by the years of warranty is under ¥5,000 a year. Five stars at most.
Easy to live with20 pts
- Starts at three stars. Add one if firmness is given in newtons (N), and one if the single weighs 10 kg or less; drop one if it weighs more than 20 kg. Five stars at most, one at least.
Trust15 pts
- Set by returns for a change of mind when bought on Rakuten Ichiba: a full refund even after use is five stars, a partial refund after opening four, returns only unopened three, no change-of-mind returns or refunds two. Add one if Rakuten Ichiba reviews (summed across the top 30 listings by product name) number 1,000 or more and average 4.4 or above. Five stars at most.
Only here20 pts
- Starts at three stars. Add one or two where a figure or mechanism belongs to this mattress alone among the seven compared, and where it bears directly on choosing a firmness, using it for years, or trying it after you buy.

What we dropped

Candidate	Verdict	Why
Magniflex Model 246	Runner-up (72/100)	72 points, level with two of the five, but it shares the Mesh Wing’s foam, durability test and dealer return terms, and the Mesh Wing is cheaper (¥47,300 against ¥50,600), lighter (about 7 kg against 12 kg) and folds away.
GABERPHO pocket-coil mattress, 21 cm	Runner-up (61/100)	61 points, the lowest of the seven: no durability test is listed and the warranty is one year, so quality takes one star, and its low price is already counted in value, so nothing belongs to it alone.
Magniflex Sustainable Wing	Runner-up	The same tri-fold as the Mesh Wing, 10 cm thick, at ¥36,300 on Rakuten. Its seven-year warranty is shorter than the Mesh Wing’s ten, and its character overlaps.
Magniflex DD Wing / Oklahoma	Runner-up	At 13 cm (tri-fold) and 23 cm (reversible) they meet the conditions, but the singles cost ¥69,300 and ¥73,700 on Rakuten Ichiba, more than ¥20,000 above the same brand’s Mesh Wing and Model 246.
GOKUMIN Grand mattress, Straight	Runner-up	The non-folding version of the Grand mattress, with Straight in its name (¥19,498 on Rakuten, 225 reviews). Its character overlaps with the tri-fold.
GOKUMIN pocket coil 20 cm / mini pocket coil 20 cm	Outside the theme	19 and 18 Rakuten Ichiba reviews, short of 30 (condition 6).
GOKUMIN Otoko no Mattress, Premium 5 cm high-resilience, 4 cm topper and others — six products	Outside the theme	4 to 6 cm thick, short of 10 cm (condition 3).
Koala Mattress (Original, Plus, Supreme)	Outside the theme	The Original has layers of 70N, 120N and 200N, and its product name says low-resilience and high-resilience — a low-resilience surface layer (condition 2). It comes with a 120-day trial.
m.lily medium-resilience mattress, 11 cm	Outside the theme	Two layers, medium- and high-resilience, so the surface is not high-resilience (condition 2). It publishes 99.5% recovery after an 80,000-cycle compression test and a three-year warranty.
NELL Coil Futon	Outside the theme	No Rakuten Ichiba reviews yet (condition 6).
Kumo no Yasuragi Premium (Itty)	Held back	The official Rakuten Ichiba store page gives its specification only as images, so we could not confirm thickness, firmness or warranty figures in text.
Showa Nishikawa Muatsu Standard / Basic	Outside the theme	Firmness is published layer by layer — 180N top, 350N middle, 250N bottom and so on — but at 9 cm and 8 cm thick they fall short of 10 cm (condition 3).
airweave Smart 01 / Smart Z01	Outside the theme	4 cm and 9 cm thick, short of 10 cm (condition 3).
Nishikawa AiR SI	Outside the theme	Every single listed on Rakuten Ichiba costs more than ¥100,000 (condition 4).
Simmons 6.5-inch pocket coil (Rakuten exclusive)	Outside the theme	The single costs ¥117,000 in Simmons’ official shop, over ¥100,000 (condition 4).
Nihon Bed Silky Pocket / Beads Pocket	Outside the theme	Singles cost ¥209,000 and ¥126,500 on Rakuten Ichiba (condition 4).
France Bed XA-241, IFM-002, TW-010α	Outside the theme	Their product names describe twin-support springs and high-density continuous springs, not pocket coils (condition 2).
Iris Ohyama pocket-coil mattress PMTS20N	Outside the theme	20 cm thick, but the Rakuten Ichiba product pages we checked give neither a warranty period nor a firmness figure (condition 5).
Tansu no Gen Jun high-resilience (R), 10 cm	Outside the theme	Firmness is published (25D at 190N, 30D at 210N), but the product page gives no warranty period (condition 5). Change-of-mind returns are not accepted.
Bed & Mattress Rakuten store high-density pocket coil, 21 cm	Outside the theme	528 coils in a single for ¥8,980, but the product page gives no warranty period (condition 5).
Emma Sleep	Outside the theme	We found no official store on Rakuten Ichiba and no listing with reviews (condition 6).

Questions visitors ask

Which one should I pick if I can’t decide?

The Motton high-resilience mattress. It scored the highest total across the five criteria, 81 points.

Which is the cheapest?

The GOKUMIN Premium Grand mattress (tri-fold), at about ¥20,498 as of 2026-10-25. The GOKUMIN Premium spring mattress is next at about ¥24,898. Prices are typical selling prices including tax and move often; the link on each one shows today’s price.

How current are the prices?

They are guide prices checked on the makers’ official sites and Rakuten Ichiba as of 2026-10-25. They change with campaigns and stock, so check the linked page before you order. All five are sold on Rakuten Ichiba, which delivers within Japan.

Can I send it back if it doesn’t suit me?

Of the five, only the NELL mattress refunds in full after use when bought on Rakuten Ichiba — between 14 and 120 days after delivery, with free return shipping, though not for reasons unrelated to comfort such as the wrong size. The GOKUMIN brand store refunds 50% of the price even after opening, if you tell it within seven days of delivery. Magniflex’s authorised dealer (Futon Tsuhan Nemuri Sapuri) takes returns only unopened, unused and within eight days of delivery. Motton offers a money-back guarantee you can apply for after 90 nights if you buy on its own site, but its Rakuten Ichiba store does not refund for reasons such as how it feels.

Which ones let me compare firmness by number?

Motton comes in three: Soft 140N, Regular 170N and Hard 280N. The GOKUMIN Grand mattress has two layers, 180N and 250N, and the urethane inside the GOKUMIN Premium spring mattress is 180N. NELL and Magniflex do not publish an N figure.

What is N (newton)?

A unit for the firmness of urethane foam: the larger the number, the firmer it is. Motton and Showa Nishikawa also give firmness in this unit on their product pages.

Which publish durability-test results?

NELL says it passed a JIS-standard test applying 102 kg 100,000 times with no sagging, broken coils or other faults. Motton recovered 96% after an 80,000-cycle test at the third-party lab Boken. Magniflex has passed the German LGA durability test, but no cycles or result figures are given. Neither GOKUMIN product mentions a durability test on its product page.

Which has the longest warranty?

Among the five, NELL (free replacement for ten years if it sags 3 cm or more) and the Magniflex Mesh Wing (ten years against indentation of the core). Among those we left out, the Magniflex Model 246 has the longest, at twelve years. The GOKUMIN Premium spring mattress has eight years and the Grand mattress one. Motton exchanges it once for a ¥4,500 delivery fee if it sags 2.5 cm or more within three years of purchase (according to its official site).

Changes

2026-10-25　First published. Scored from 54 candidates.