Why own a comfy pillow when you can lease one?

How long have you had your current pillow? Some of us might not even be able to answer that question because it’s been so long. That’s the case for our writer Ahiruneko, who, at best guess, would say he’s been using the same one for about 20 years.

▼ Ahiruneko’s current pillow

Feeling it was about time for a change, he looked into getting a new one. That’s when he stumbled upon The Pillow, a subscription service where you pay 1,480 yen (US$10) per month to get a tailor-made place to rest your head each night.

This was an attractive offer for Ahiruneko, because his biggest fear of getting a new pillow was accidentally committing to one that was uncomfortable. He wouldn’t say the pillow he had at the time was especially amazing, but he just didn’t want to end up with something worse.

The Pillow’s monthly rate gave him an easy out if he wasn’t satisfied. Plus, the pillow they sent was customized to his body and habits. When ordering a pillow, he had to answer 25 questions, such as how tall he was, how much he weighed, if he usually sleeps well, and what his general pillow preferences were.

▼ Question: Please tell us your pillow comfort preferences. Answers: Surrounded by soft and fluffy, Softness with a little push-back, A sinking hardness like memory foam, Springy firmness, Strong firmness, I don’t know.

An AI would then analyze his answers and create the best pillow for him from among 700,000 options.

▼ Personalized concept: Easily stabilize the back of the head
The amount of material around the neck area has been adjusted to ensure a comfortable fit. The shape has been designed to make it easy to sleep on your back, with your neck height at rest elevated to 6.3 centimeters (2.5 inches).

His new pillow arrived surprisingly fast, only two days after ordering.

Inside was a “slightly tall” pillow filled with little plastic tubes, often called “pipes” in Japan. These kinds of pillows are rather common here, but for those who visit the country, they tend to be very divisive, with people either loving or hating them.

However, unlike the regular pipes, these are called Mochi Koroll Blue, where “mochi” is often a word used to describe food that is extra soft and pliable.

Ahiruneko was taken aback by the retail price of this pillow at 27,500 yen ($180). Considering he’d only be paying about five percent of that for one month, it was a steal.

It was surprisingly large too, and about twice the size of his previous pillow.

It felt soft to the touch, but there was also an underlying firmness to it.

As his head hit the new cushion, Ahiruneko let out a satisfied “Ahhhh…” It had a fluffy feeling that cradled his head, but at the same time, it wasn’t too soft and offered just the right amount of support.

However, after spending his first night with it. He felt it was just a little too high for his liking.

That was OK, though, because after consulting the manual, he unzipped the pillow from underneath and removed the sizing sheet.

Each sheet removed lowers the pillow by one centimeter.

The next night, the height felt optimal, and his neck felt straighter. It was perfect.

But even if it wasn’t, there were seven pockets inside filled with whichever material the AI deemed best for you. By opening one up and adding or removing material, you can fine-tune the pillow even further. Those who subscribe can get more filling free of charge or exchange them too, just in case you’re an anti-tuber who got stuck with tubes.

It was a very good pillow, but Ahiruneko considered the subscription plan. Given the cost of buying the pillow outright, he’d have 20 months of rental use before it becomes a liability. Those really finicky sleepers who want to constantly adjust their pillows could get some more mileage from the monthly payments, but our writer felt he should bail as soon as possible to save money.

Honestly, he was sad to see such a pillow go. If he ever gets to a point where he can justify paying that much for a pillow, The Pillow is the one he’d choose. But at least for now, he got a good sense of what a pillow can and should do for him, and would use that knowledge moving forward.

One catch is that upon cancelling your subscription, you have to pay the shipping to return your pillow. So, even if you get it for only the first month and bail, as Ahiruneko did, you’ll have to pay around twice the amount depending on where you are. 

Considering a lot of pillows sell for less than that, The Pillow might not be worth it for some people. But it is a great way to get a feel for the different options out there and discover your own personal preferences.

Related: The Pillow
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[ Read in Japanese ]