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Many companies claim to make shiatsu massage chairs, but in reality the chairs offer nothing of the sort. At best, most offer a general type of massage. Real shiatsu is the application of pressure with fingers and thumbs on energetic pathways called meridians to improve the flow of energy. To be honest, most chairs lack the necessary technology. However, some do. Here is an overview of some of the best shiatsu massage chairs available today.

The HoMedics Shiatsu massage chair, and others like the iJoy, are often touted as offering true human-like shiatsu massage. But they really don’t. The problem is that for true shiatsu, the chair needs to be smart enough to know your body shape, just like a professional massager takes into account each person’s height, weight, and so on. Chairs like HoMedics and iJoy are cheap and lack the technology required. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good chairs, but you just can’t find a shiatsu chair for under $1,500.

So how much do you have to spend? Well if you want a chair that delivers then talk around $1,800.

Sold at this price point, the Fujikura 2000 massage chair features an intelligent 4-roller system that adapts to the contour of your spine and a special neck massage function that directly targets stress-relieving “tsubo points” on your neck. It also has other features such as 26 airbags – 20 of which are in the foot and calf massager – as well as arm massagers. Massage modes include: rolling, kneading, shiatsu results, compression and percussion, chop action and flapping. As an added bonus, the chair is equipped with a music therapy system.

Fujikura is a Japanese company and if you really want the best shiatsu massage chair, you should buy one designed by a Japanese company. The Sanyo HEC-SA5000K massage chair is the original product and costs around $4,300. It’s a lot of money, I know, but you’re really getting something that’s in the premier league. It’s a very stylish chair, but more importantly, it’s equipped with body shape detectors that automatically adjust the massage rollers to your body shape to provide a perfect massage. You get a leg massager with this model, but no arm massagers.

For a thousand dollars less – and a better chair in my opinion – the OSIM iSymphonic Massage Chair is available. Now this chair is packed with the latest technology. It uses optical sensors to recognize your body shape and automatically align the rollers to deliver a stress-relieving massage. There are also 5 health programs and you can customize them to create your own unique massage. But what’s really impressive about this chair is the music therapy system. Unlike the Fujikura chair (mentioned above), it simply doesn’t play music, rather the massage is orchestrated directly by the music of your choice. Going for hard rock will get you a pounding, but listening to soothing classical will give you an overall gentler massage.

The Inada i.2 Massage Chair (HCP-i.2A) retails around $3,300 and is cheaper than the Sanyo or OSIM, but I believe it offers the best value for money. Like the OSIM massage chair, it uses optical sensors to detect body shape and automatically adjusts the chair casters. Also, like the OSIM, it doesn’t have arm massagers, but it does come with armrest vibrations. The overall design of the chair is very modern and stylish.

For its cost and feature list, the Inada is certainly a shiatsu massage chair that I would recommend. However, it’s worth trying out the others if possible, especially the OSIM and Sanyo massage chairs, so you can be absolutely sure which one works best for you.

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