Among our foreign customers, there are many customers who find this smell pleasant, and there also many customers who find this smell not to their liking.
As the smell is caused by the material, there will be no difference even when changed to another mat as the smell is unique to tatami mats themselves.
The smell of traditional Igusa (Rush grass) is something the Japanese people love, but some non-Japanese people do not like it.
If a Japanese-style room doesn’t smell of Igusa, it is likely that a different material which is not Igusa is used.
For example, Tatami mats with surfaces made from resins (TOKYO SERIES), or Japanese paper (ZEN SERIES).
TOKYO SERIES
https://japanese-tatamimat.com/tokyo-series
ZEN SERIES
https://japanese-tatamimat.com/zen
Classic Black-Heri Tokyo Green Long
https://japanese-tatamimat.com/product/mat/classic/cls-bk-tgl