These are good little keyboards - I've owned both the JP version and the ANSI, both were Type-S. The JP version was good to go, just plug it in and start typing, basically. I think I told my Mac to treat it as if it were an ANSI KB. At first it would be good to familiarize yourself with what keys work and what keys don't do anything. As you can see, there's lots of extra keys in the JP version, and some of them won't do anything when pressed. Overall I really like this cute KB, especially the dedicated arrow keys and the Type-S Topre switches mounted on the PCB - just super! However for me the non-standard layout eventually turned me off and I sold it. If you've got the $$ I say give it a try!
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In what ways is this version's layout most objectionable to you relative to the layout of the standard HHKB? I haven't used either one yet, but I'm considering the HHKB, so I'd like to understand better in what ways they are functionally most different apart from the arrow keys, bigger enter key, and busier bottom row w. smaller space-bar (those differences I can see right away, at least).
Ha, let me state that both versions have layout issues for me, just in different ways. For me, the JP version offers up the challenge of the backspace/delete key being further away, along with the ISO Enter key placement vs. ANSI Enter. Also, strangly, the delete key would act like a backspace key in some programs but not others, no matter how I configured the dip switches. Since I like to use different keyboards throughout the week or even day, going back and forth between the HHKB and standard layouts was just too annoying to me.
