In a Nutshell:
The Osaki OS Pro Yamato was an amazing chair back in 2018 when it was first introduced. These days, it’s above average but can’t compete with chairs sporting the latest tech. We can’t recommend this one. Even if you’re on a budget, you can find a capable 3D massage chair for the same or less money.
Overall Massage Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Brand Reliability*
Overall Rating
3.7/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: We can’t recommend this one. Even if you’re on a budget, you can find a capable 3D massage chair for the same or less money.
Do you suffer from chronic back, leg, or foot pain? Are you on a first-name basis with your local chiropractor and looking for a way to save some money and get relief at home?
If you answered yes to the questions above, you might have begun researching massage chair options and been intrigued by what you’ve read in various Osaki OS-Pro Yamato massage chair reviews.
You’ll be happy to know that Osaki is one of the big names in the industry, and they have a track record for making excellent products. Read here for more of their product lineup.
In fairness, the Yamato Pro was an exceptional massage chair when it was first released, but there’s a problem. It was released in 2018, and technology has moved considerably since then.
Back in 2018, we would have recommended this one without reservation, but now, as you’ll see in our Osaki OS-Pro Yamato review, we just can’t. We’ll explain exactly why and then point you toward some options that will certainly serve you better.
If you want to know more, read on. Let’s examine where this model falls short and what could be done to make it a must-have again.
Key Features of the Osaki OS-Pro Yamato Massage Chair
This is provisionally a fairly strong component of our Osaki OS Pro Yamato review because the basics don’t change much over time.
The Yamato Pro’s overall dimensions are 33.1” W x 62.6” L x 49.2” H (74.8” L x 36.2” H when fully reclined), and the chair weighs 216.2 pounds, so it’s a hefty piece of furniture.
If you don’t opt for White Glove service or if it’s not offered in your area, it would make sense to have an assistant standing by on the day the chair arrives because unless you’re a distant relative of the Incredible Hulk, it will probably be too big and cumbersome to maneuver into position by yourself.
Honestly, we don’t recommend White Glove service in any case. The Osaki Pro Yamato assembly process is pretty simple, mostly because it comes about 90% assembled in the first place, so there’s just not much left to do, and what little you’ll need to do is spelled out in the well-written user manual.
You’ll also be pleased to know that the chair has a space-saving design, so it only needs about 4.7” of clearance between the seatback and whatever wall you place near to recline fully. That’s awesome and makes finding a permanent home for the Yamato Pro fairly easy.
One thing to be aware of is that this model can only support up to 220 pounds of user weight. While there’s no firm industry standard here, most massage chairs on the market can support 300 pounds, and many can support significantly more, so this one’s weight limit leaves us feeling underwhelmed.
Of course, if you weigh less than that anyway, it won’t matter to you, but if you happen to weigh more, then even if this winds up being the perfect massage chair for you, it won’t matter—the weight limit is going to be an absolute dealbreaker.
In addition, the Yamato Pro has what we’d describe as a disappointing massage track that only measures 43” in length. That makes this chair suitable for users ranging from 5’ to 6’ tall. If you’re taller than that, don’t count on this model giving you a world-class massage. It just won’t be able to reach all of your pressure points properly.
Again, if you’re in that height range, this fact won’t matter to you at all, but if you’re taller than that, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment if you invest in this chair.
This underscores why we used the word “provisionally” at the start of this section. If you weigh less than 220 pounds and are no taller than 6’, this chair will be a great fit for you; to be fair, that describes a gigantic slice of the market. However, it also leaves a fair number of people out, and if you’re one of those, then the Osaki Pro Yamato is going to be a non-starter.
Before we leave this section, it’s worth mentioning that Osaki isn’t one of those companies that tries to disguise the true nature of its products. Its massage chairs look like massage chairs.
If you want a massage chair that can disguise itself as a conventional recliner when you’re not using it, you can have that—it just won’t be an Osaki chair, but such chairs exist!
Decent But Dated Technology
Much of the Yamato’s tech holds up pretty well today, even though it is aging, but there’s one glaring example where it doesn’t. Because of that, we have to regard this as a relatively weak aspect of our Osaki OS-Pro Yamato review.
Let’s start with the good, though, because there are some good things to discuss here. First, Osaki chairs boast world-class body-scanning technology. Anytime you sit in the chair, it will take a quick scan of your body and quietly adjust the position of the massage rollers so that they hit your body’s pressure points just right.
Even better, the chair will almost always put the rollers exactly where they need to go, but if it misses the mark now and then, you’ll find controls on the remote allowing you to reposition them to taste. That way, you’ll never get anything less than the best massage this chair can give.
Also, the Yamato boasts excellent quad rollers, which remain the industry standard today.
Similarly, the Bluetooth speakers offered on this chair are identical to those found on new models released this year.
Unfortunately, as we mentioned earlier, the massage track is one glaring weakness.
Today, most of the chairs on the market sport a 3D massage track that allows the rollers to move along the X, Y, and Z-axis. The poor Yamato, however, is saddled with a 2D massage track, which makes a bigger difference than you might think in terms of overall massage quality.
Combine the limitations of the 2D massage track with its somewhat short length, and you’ve got a major design problem with the chair, especially since the whole point of the thing is to render a great massage.
No, it’s not automatically a dealbreaker because if you are in the “right” height and weight range. As long as you don’t have serious therapeutic requirements, this chair can still give a massage that’s “good enough.” If that’s all you’re looking for, it could still be a decent fit, but the simple truth is that there are better options for the same or even less money.
Decent Number of Massage Options
We regard this as an above-average component of our Osaki OS-Pro Yamato review because there are some really impressive things to discuss here. Unfortunately, that’s offset by a couple of disappointing limitations. Let’s take a closer look:
First, the good. The Osaki Yamato Pro offers the following massage techniques:
While the basic massage techniques (the first four) are nothing special, the big thing to talk about is that this model offers not one but two advanced massage techniques.
That may not be enough to overcome the limitations of the 2D massage track, but its importance cannot be overstated. Swedish is a highly sought-after technique in massage chairs, and the fact that you can get it here in a chair priced in the mid-range is beyond impressive.
Even better, the Yamato has ten pre-programmed massage routines you can enjoy. These are:
All of these are enjoyable, but this is where we begin to encounter the limitations of the 2D massage track.
Thai massage is meant to be aggressive, but for it to be effective, the rollers need to dig deep into your tissue, and the 2D track doesn’t allow that.
The good news is that this chair features two different Zero-G seating positions, and you can help with this particular massage by putting the chair in one of those two Zero-G positions before you begin your massage.
In a similar vein, the deep tissue massage on offer struggles because the massage heads can’t move along the Z-axis. The same thinking applies, though. If you put the chair in one of its two Zero-G positions, your body weight will press you more firmly against it, allowing the rollers to dig deeper and do a better job.
It is by no means a perfect solution, but it is a way to extract a little bit more performance from the chair.
In addition to two advanced massage techniques and ten pre-programmed massage options, the Yamato offers both spot and partial modes and some customization. Still, here, we run into another limitation of the chair.
Because this chair sports a 2D massage track, there’s no good way (other than placing the chair in one of its Zero-G seating positions) to increase the overall intensity of the massage. All you can do is adjust the speed of the rollers.
Granted, you’ve got five different speed options, and that’s good, but it’s a genuine limitation.
Average Airbag Massage
The Yamato Pro has 36 airbags and can render a good but unexceptional airbag-based massage, and here, you can adjust the intensity of the massage you get via five levels from the remote.
It feels good, but the feature implementation isn’t strong enough to prompt anyone to buy this model over others based on the air massage alone.
It Has Heat Too!
The quality of the massage you can get from this model is good, and with a bit of tweaking, it can even border on being great. The addition of heat helps matters along here. Even better, on this model, heat is offered both in the lumbar region of your back and in the calf region of the leg massage ports, which is huge.
The only thing that would improve the offered heat would be precise temperature control, but only a handful of massage chairs on the market offer that, so it’s not something we were expecting.
The bottom line is this chair has heat and, even better, more extensive heat than you might imagine.
That’s a very good thing because heat has genuine therapeutic value and gives you, the user, another means of enhancing and modifying your massage experience. This is an exceptional one on a chair that is a bit light with such options. In our view, this is probably the best individual feature of the chair.
Exceptional Calf And Foot Massage
If the offered heat is this model’s best feature, then we’d have to rate the calf and foot massage as the second best, making this a fairly important component of our Osaki Pro Yamato review.
Combining airbags in the leg massage ports and foot rollers renders the calf and foot massage. That’s very good, but when you add heat to the equation, it’s simply amazing.
If you spend several hours each day on your feet and are looking for relief when you get home, this is probably going to be your favorite feature.
Few High-Value Extras to Boot!
Osaki is very good at building high-value extras and finishing touches into its designs; this model is no exception. The three big things to talk about here are:
These are outstanding and add value to the chair. Kudos to Osaki for including them!
Pros & Cons of Osaki OS-Pro Yamato Massage Chair
Here are the things we think you’ll like best about the Yamato Massage Chair:
As good as those selling points are, the simple truth is that this chair is hobbled by aging technology.
As such, this model is consistently outclassed by its more modern peers.
Osaki OS-Pro Yamato Review Conclusion
Our goal in writing this Osaki OS-Pro Yamato review was to convey two key points. First, this is by no means a bad chair or design. It’s a rock-solid design that verged on greatness when it was first released in 2018.
Unfortunately for Yamato, massage chair technology has advanced greatly in the intervening years, and this chair badly needs an update. The more time passes, the more glaring its shortcomings will become.
Given that, we cannot recommend it in good conscience. Finding a better chair for the same or less money is just too easy.
Other Options to Consider
Recommended For: Hobbyist/casual users, chronic pain sufferers, and taller users, almost anybody, will love this chair!
This is an amazing chair packed with features and is, in our view, the best value on the massage chair market today. Like Osaki, Kahuna is one of the giants in the industry—a brand with an impeccable reputation and a long history of offering great designs. This one’s well worth a look.
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 280 pounds, especially if you can find this model on sale (which is fairly often!). The sale price approaches a 50% discount, making the Paragon an insanely good value.
If you know you want a chair offered by Osaki, this is a great example of a modern, fully up-to-date model. This one has everything, including heated massage rollers and voice recognition. It’s a masterpiece of design and is well worth the extra money.
References & Resources
- Osaki, Official Brand Website.
- Osaki OS Pro Yamato Massage Chair User Manual.
- Thai Massage, American Massage Therapy Association.
- Massage and Stress, Williams College.
- The Mechanisms of Massage and Effects on Performance, Muscle, Recovery and Injury Prevention, PubMed.