It’s called the Warm Roll Cushion, but “warm” doesn’t do enough to describe how much it does to keep you from feeling any cold.

After an unusually warm autumn, a winter chill has rushed into Japan like an oversleeping high schooler sliding into class before the tardy bell rings. That’s not exactly a happy development for our Japanese-language reporter Mariko Ohanabatake, since she can’t stand the cold.

So with the temperature dropping, Mariko took the initiative in expanding her arsenal for her annual fight against the winter weather and ordered a new cushion.

“Wait a second,” you might be saying, “how is a cushion supposed to keep you warm?”

Because this isn’t just any cushion…it’s a cushion you can wear.

Made by Cainz, a Japanese company that produces furniture, clothing, and housewares, this is the Warm Roll Cushion, or Attaka Roll Cushion in Japanese. Bundled up, it looks like, and can be used as, a giant throw pillow. Unfurl it though…

…and it becomes a luxuriously, and ludicrously, fluffy coat/blanket hybrid.

Mariko had had her eye on the Warm Roll Cushion for a while now, and apparently she’s not the only one. When she went to put her order in, Cainz was all sold out of the grey and brown versions, but the pink was still in stock. Putting it on and looking at her reflection in the mirror, Mariko couldn’t decide if she looked more like a rubber suit kaiju-of-the-week destined to fight against Ultraman or Kamen Rider, or if her attire was more suited to going up on stage to sing opera at an avant-garde stage production.

What she did know, though, was that she was warm. Extremely warm. Actually, Mariko would go so far as to say she felt hot wearing the Warm Roll Cushion, and had no need whatsoever to turn on her apartment’s heater.

The thick padding also makes the Warm Roll Cushion the ideal outfit for lounging and lazing in. All that thickness makes it feel like you’ve added an extra layer or two of cushioning to your sofa or mattress.

Turning the garment around lets you use it more like a blanket, and in Mariko’s case had her feeling like a pink, puffy princess.

Mariko did kind of wish Cainz had used a brighter shade of pink, though. Between the light color and the rolls, it sort of reminded her of ground beef. However, the Warm Roll Cushion is reversible, and the inside is pure white.

The price is reasonable too, at just 2,480 yen (US$18) for small size, 3,480 for a medium, and 3,980 yen for a large through Cainz online store here (the primary difference is the length, and Mariko opted for a large).

As cozy as it is, though, there are a few things to be aware of. First, Mariko can’t stress enough how puffy this thing is. It’s so puffy that it takes some time to get used to giving yourself more space to navigate around furniture or down hallways.

It can also present a bit of a storage quandary if you’re living in one of Japan’s less-than-spacious apartments. Before her Warm Roll Cushion arrived, Mariko had been getting a head start on her New Year’s cleaning, and was on her way to a more stylishly minimalist interior look. The Warm Roll Cushion, though, now dominates the design of whatever room she has it in, whether she’s wearing it, has folded it back up into a cushion, or is using it as a rug, another recommendation from Cainz.

But perhaps the biggest potential drawback is that, in Mariko’s opinion, the Warm Roll Cushion is very poorly suited for using as work-from-home attire. Not because of its appearance, but because it’s so comfortable and toasty that it’s just about impossible to stay awake once you’ve put it on, especially since the soft padding makes pretty much any flat surface feel sleep-invitingly comfortable.

But if those are all downsides you can live with, it’s hard to imagine a better place to spend the winter than inside the Warm Roll Cushion.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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