KYOTO--With demand for tatami plunging in Japan, a specialized trading firm here is eyeing a potential market of 2 billion people for the traditional mats. The company is selling tatami mats that ...

The tatami room, better known as 和室 (washitsu, “Japanese-style room”), is a space that features tatami mats as its main flooring element. Tatami mats are made from woven straw with a rice straw core ...

TOYOHASHI, Aichi Prefecture--A municipal planetarium here will soon offer a family-friendly box where visitors can lie flat on tatami mats and look up at the stars. The separated seating area ...

Starbucks opened a coffee shop in Japan's old capital of Kyoto. It is unlike other Starbucks. It has three tatami rooms that have no chairs. Tatami is a straw floor mat. People sit on cushions on the ...