The Best Japanese Floor Futons

Thickness, and what each one is actually for

Four inches is the traditional-ish thickness and the lightest. It is firm, it suits back sleepers, and side sleepers will feel the floor at the hip. MAXYOYO also sells 4.5, 6 and 8-inch versions, and the 6-inch is the one to look at if this is going to be used more than occasionally.

Construction on the MAXYOYO is microfiber cotton top and bottom over a high-density foam core; the listing describes roughly 17cm of loft before quilting compressing to over 10cm after. Quilting is what stops the filling migrating, which is the failure mode of cheap floor futons.

The size advantage nobody mentions

Floor futons come in real mattress sizes. A MAXYOYO twin is 39 by 80 inches; a queen is 60 by 80. That is a genuinely full-length sleeping surface, which is more than any convertible sofa on this site offers — the widest of those opens to 85 by 38.2 inches and the longest sleeping dimension in the convertible category is 44 inches.

So for a tall guest, a floor futon is objectively better than a sofa bed on the dimension that matters most, at a fraction of the price, with no assembly. That is worth saying plainly because the format is usually written about as a compromise.

Standard sheets fit too, which convertible sofas cannot manage. A twin fitted sheet on a four-inch mattress is loose but workable; deep-pocket sheets are wrong for this and will bunch.

The one dimension where the format is a genuine compromise is depth, and MAXYOYO sells the same mattress in 4.5, 6 and 8 inch versions for exactly that reason. Which depth belongs to which use is set out in how thick a futon mattress should be.

The three real costs

Airing. A floor futon traps moisture between itself and the floor. The traditional practice is to air it regularly, and the modern reality is that most people do not, and then find the underside damp. If it is going to stay down for a week, put a slatted roll-up base or a breathable mat under it.

Getting up off the floor. Four inches puts the sleeping surface about four inches off the ground. For a young guest that is nothing. For anyone with a knee, hip or back problem it is the deciding factor against this format, and it is a reasonable one.

It looks like a mattress on the floor. Because it is. In a room that has to double as a sitting room, that is a real objection that no styling solves — a daybed is the format that gives you a real mattress that reads as furniture.

Roll-up or tri-fold: pick by where it is stored

A roll-up is lighter and stores as a cylinder, which fits behind a door or under a bed. A tri-fold stands up as a block — a folded size Milliard does not publish on the Milliard — which fits a wardrobe floor or a closet corner neatly and does not need strapping.

The tri-fold’s cost is the two fold lines, which are findable through six inches of foam if you sleep on your side. The roll-up’s cost is that it needs a strap and it will gradually take a curve if it is stored rolled for months.

Either way, do not store it compressed under something heavy. Foam takes a set and does not recover. Related reading: how to make a futon more comfortable and studio apartment guest bed ideas.

Two directions from here. The difference between this format and the thick mattress-on-a-frame that shares its name is in futon vs shikibuton. And because a 13 lb mattress that rolls into a bag is the best answer anyone has found for a vehicle, the camper version of this shortlist is the best futons for RVs and campers.