Life In 19x19

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 ?

Try to search on amazon.com for tatami mat

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.

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.

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

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.

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 :

http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 1&start=40

Will probably continue with it...

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.

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.

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

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.

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