Tatami mat

Mage · Post by **Mage** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:17 am

I'm searching for an economically viable, but at the same time fairly good, tatami mat for my Hyuga Kaya table Goban. Have been using a plain cloth so far and want to upgrade.

Do you guys have any recommendations ? The few I have seen, I felt, were way overpriced ! I'm thinking under $50 ?

EdLee · Post by **EdLee** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:04 pm

Try to search on amazon.com for tatami mat

Mage · Post by **Mage** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:31 pm

I did. The ones I saw there were either disproportionate in size, ugly or outside my budget.

e.g. : http://www.amazon.com/Organize-It-All-T ... _hg_fd__26

I got my Kaya table Goban from a friend for a song; He recently bought a floor Goban from http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp to replace the table Goban from the same vendor. He suggested this Tatami mat from Mr. Kuroki as well, which base-price-wise is perfect :

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

I was wondering if there might be an equivalent one from a U.S. vendor, so as to avoid overseas shipping and the corresponding wait.

ez4u · Post by **ez4u** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:29 pm

I have used the tatami mats at various Go clubs in Japan. They look nice, but IMHO they do not work as well as a good thick piece of felt. They are fairly hard in their own right and boards tend to not settle down on top of them quite right. I have not bought one for use at home. YMMV.

Erythen · Post by **Erythen** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:53 am

Mage wrote:I'm searching for an economically viable, but at the same time fairly good, tatami mat for my Hyuga Kaya table Goban. Have been using a plain cloth so far and want to upgrade.

Do you guys have any recommendations ? The few I have seen, I felt, were way overpriced ! I'm thinking under $50 ?

I picked up a set for my floor board from Chopa. It looks like they have a single square (not a full mat) that might work...It's probably a bit too large and ill suited for a table board though.

http://www.chopa.com/ShopSite/Tatami_Mat_Squares.html

The one from Mr. Kuroki is very good and probably more suited for what your looking for. It's made to fit a table board.

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

gowan · Post by **gowan** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:53 am

ez4u wrote:I have used the tatami mats at various Go clubs in Japan. They look nice, but IMHO they do not work as well as a good thick piece of felt. They are fairly hard in their own right and boards tend to not settle down on top of them quite right. I have not bought one for use at home. YMMV.

I have had the same experience using one of the thin tatami mats made for table-top use. I, too, found that a good piece of felt works well. You can cut it so that it doesn't stick out from under the board, making for a neat, clean look.

Mage · Post by **Mage** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:15 pm

Erythen wrote:I picked up a set for my floor board from Chopa. It looks like they have a single square (not a full mat) that might work...It's probably a bit too large and ill suited for a table board though.

http://www.chopa.com/ShopSite/Tatami_Mat_Squares.html

The one from Mr. Kuroki is very good and probably more suited for what your looking for. It's made to fit a table board.

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

Thanks. I will check them out.

ez4u wrote:I have used the tatami mats at various Go clubs in Japan. They look nice, but IMHO they do not work as well as a good thick piece of felt. They are fairly hard in their own right and boards tend to not settle down on top of them quite right. I have not bought one for use at home. YMMV.

gowan wrote: I have had the same experience using one of the thin tatami mats made for table-top use. I, too, found that a good piece of felt works well. You can cut it so that it doesn't stick out from under the board, making for a neat, clean look.

Interesting. I have never actually seen a tatami mat used with a table Goban, so this is useful to know. I am currently using a yoga mat :

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=371&start=40

Will probably continue with it...

Yukontodd · Post by **Yukontodd** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:19 pm

I saw one here: http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

Someday when I can afford one of their boards, I was thinking of ordering it too, so let us know how it goes if you get one.

Mage · Post by **Mage** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 8:28 pm

So..I finally succumbed to temptation and got the tatami mat from Kuroki. Attaching some pictures below. The mat is of the highest quality and though it is actually a bit thicker than I expected the goban sits quite well on it.

tchan001 · Post by **tchan001** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:15 am

I've alway preferred storing my table board in a Paulownia Box
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

Mage · Post by **Mage** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:52 am

tchan001 wrote:I've alway preferred storing my table board in a Paulownia Box
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

Nice. I've seen the large floor go board covers from Mr. Kuroki and they look really beautiful. Do you use a tatami mat separately during play or do you use the base of the Paulownia box to keep the board on, even while playing ?

I had some weight/space qualms and to double-up as a carry-on during my Go sojourns, I went alternatively for a protective sleeve and GoTote travel bag from YMI :

http://www.ymimports.com/c-49-go-accessories.aspx

Hoping this would keep the Hyuga wood well maintained.

tchan001 · Post by **tchan001** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:48 am

I just remove the top and play with the board inside the bottom half of the box

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