Pursuant to my article last week about where the massage chairs are made, I’d like to chit chat with you about two new models from Osaki that are truly 100% made in Japan.
You may be wondering what the big deal is about whether a chair is manufactured in Japan vs. China vs. USA, but for discriminating massage chair buyers, it is a BIG deal!
Here are the main differences, and they all have to do with the quality of the chair build:
- Japanese & American chairs will last 15+ years; Chinese manufactured chairs will typically last up to 10 years.
- Japanese & American chairs have a less than 1% failure rate, whereas Chinese chairs have a failure rate from 2-5%…and that can even be higher if the chair is manufactured in a smaller, lesser known Chinese factory.
- Quality control is greater in the Japanese & American factories.
I will review the only American-made chair of consequence, Luraco’s iRobotics 7, next week so that you can get an idea of what a US chair is all about. But, for today’s post, I want to talk about two models that are truly 100% made, manufactured, and assembled in Japan.
As I mentioned in my earlier article, just because a chair box says “Made in Japan” or “Made in USA” does not mean that 100% of the chair is made in that country.
Osaki has introduced two new models to the US market that are manufactured 100% in Japan. The chair models are made by Fuji Medical Instruments Mfg. Co., Ltd, which is one of the oldest massage chair manufacturers in Japan and, thus, since massage chairs began in Japan, one of the oldest in the world. As a matter of fact, the first commercially-made massage chair with a roller track originated from this company.
One of the models, the Osaki-JP Premium 4S, is currently the #1 selling massage chair in Japan. The other model, the Osaki OS-4D Pro Jp Premium, is an older model that has become quite popular with customers looking for the Japanese-only massage chair. The 4S is a new model that we should be getting in our California showroom later this week. Of course, I will record some video of that chair for our YouTube channel.
The naming of these two models seems kind of weird, since they are quite similar and have been somewhat confusing for not only our customers, but also us!!
Here is a list of the primary features of each chair, for your perusal:
Osaki OS-4D Pro JP Premium
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4D Massage Rollers – I’ve talked about the term “4D” before, and how I think it’s just a marketing term, but the gist of it is that the rollers can move forward and back to increase or decrease the intensity of the roller massage. That’s what’s known as 3D. It also has a roller speed adjustment, and that’s what the 4th D is all about. The rollers are dual, not quad, rollers but are quite sophisticated and can give the user a very intense massage.
- 43 Airbags – Plenty of airbags available to provide compression massage to those areas of the body where the rollers can’t reach, i.e. seat, arms, hips, waist, shoulders, feet, and calves. I like the way the Japanese chairs, including Panasonic and Inada in the discussion of this point, use the airbags in concert with the rollers to affect a very therapeutic massage. It really contributes to the feel of a whole-body massage.
- 10 Auto Programs – This chair provides lots of versatility with it’s 10 pre-set, auto programs. Each of the 5 main programs have a stronger version, known as KIWAMI MECHA courses. Inada has something like this, too.
- Versatile Masssage Rollers – The dual rollers, referred to above, can provide various modes of massage to effect different therapeutic benefits for your muscles. Just because it has 2 less rollers than most Chinese chairs, in no way means that the massage experience is compromised. As a matter of fact, in some ways it can be better since the rollers can dig deep without the lower two rollers inhibiting that motion. But, my guess is that you would never know the difference between the dual vs. quad roller thing if no one told you which chair has which rollers.
- Body Scanning – They call it the 3D Navigation System, but what the scanning system does is map out the shape of your spine to give you the personal and accurate massage. Not just measuring your head and shoulder position, the scanning system actually maps out the topography of your spine. Pretty cool stuff.
- Easy Remote Control – The remote is quite intuitive and easy to use. Nothing fancy though, in terms of touch screens and smartphone-like usability.
Osaki-JP Premium 4S
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3D Massage Rollers – This chair also has adjustable depth 3D dual rollers that can move 12.5 cm forward and back through 12 different positions. Although they didn’t call it “4D” rollers on this model (all the model numbers are getting too bloody confusin!!), this chair still has the roller speed adjustment to make the massage experience feel even more vigorous.
- 43 Airbags – Also 43 airbags in this chair, covering pretty much the same areas as the 4D. Unique to the 4S, this chair has a hand-kneading air cell massage, plus all of the airbags offer a pulse mode to enhance and promote circulation as well as a more traditional/normal compression massage.
- 16 Auto Programs – The auto programs of the 4S includes four 30 minutes PRO programs, five 7-minutes coures, and a bunch of 16 minutes localized auto program. It also has a full-body stretch program. I haven’t used this chair yet, so I can’t really tell you how cool or different the programs, but they certainly sound interesting.
- Dual Masssage Rollers – The dual rollers offer a sophisticated kneading function that provides 85 kinds of techniques! Not sure how that feels, but, again, I’m looking forward to experiencing the roller system when the chair arrives at our showroom.
- Contemporary Body Styling – The 4S improves on the older body styling of the OS-4D Pro JP Premium, with nicer lines and a simpler, more modern body design.
- Shoulder Blade and Feet Heat – The area between the shoulder blades is typically tight and fatigued in todays computer-driven workplace. While most massage chairs offer low back heat, the 4S offers heat in the shoulder blade area to relax the musculature to allow the rollers to dig a little deeper and give a more therapeutic massage. Reflexology points are also warmed up with sole warmers.
- Touch Screen Remote – This chair comes with the more traditional rubber buttons, but also has a screen display that will allow touch screen convenience.
- Memory Function – If you like a particular program that you’ve created with your new chair, the chair can memorize that program, including chair position, roller and airbag intensity, roller modalities, and speed. So, the next time you sit in your chairs, and want to enjoy the program you created earlier, just push the memory button and you are on your way!
Well, I hope that helps! You are invited to visit our Southern California showroom, where we have both models on display. Feel free to call the showroom at 562-865-4607 and chat with our massage chair experts.
Dr. Alan Weidner
P.S. Give us a “Like”, “Share”, or “+1” and leave me a comment or question below to share what you learned or ask any questions, so other folks can benefit from this material.