Here in Australia the board cost me 2.5x what a filco costs. I have a filco too, and it feels like it will outlast me. I don't get that impression from the HHKB2. After 3 years of babying it, it creaks when i pick it up and apply even the slightest pressure. It's super light and doesn't feel as sturdy as a lot of reviewers imply. This is probably my biggest gripe with the board, at the price i paid, frankly I feel ripped off. Good keycaps though.
(1) I agree that the original Topre-keyboards (Realforce and HHKB) are expensive. However, you overlook one difference between Filco (and other typical Cherry MX boards) and Topre boards that explains the price difference: PBT keycaps. Typical MX boards like the Filco you reference come with ABS keycaps. Realforce and HHKB boards come with PBT keycaps. They are more expensive.
If you buy a Filco Majestouch or a KUL ES-87 and buy a PBT keycap set, you almost spend as much money as you would have on a Realforce or HHKB.
(2) The lack of "sturdiness" is due to the fact that the HHKB does not have a metal backplate. In addition some argue that 45G Topre (HHKB) feels a bit "mushy" compared to 55G Topre (which is in the Realforce).
If you would like a more sturdy feel, consider buying the Realforce 87U 55G uniformly weighted: it has a metal backplate and the 55G Topre-switch with the more pronounced keypress feel.
This is personal preference, but I feel like topre is overrated too. I enjoy blues more. But yeah that's not a knock against the board.
Although everybody deserves his or her preference, this doesn't really help much to get an understanding as to what you DISLIKE about Topre. What do you dislike? The sound? The feel? The travel? The sound? The weight / actuation force? It would be interesting to tell us what explicitly you dislike about the Topre-switch compare to your favorit MX Blues-switch.
The layout is a pain in the ass. Don't get me wrong, I really like it, but when I had it at work (programmer), colleagues trying to do something on my PC weren't able to use the keyboard. We jump on each others computers a lot and in the end I had a second keyboard plugged in for when they were using my pc. Also some people don't seem to have an issue with jumping between layouts, but I do. I've been touch typing since I was 13 but I can never get used to switching between hhkb2 and other layouts. I can do it of course, but I make typing errors. And that annoys the hell out of me. I type on laptops, at work and at home and on colleagues PC's etc, so I can't have a HHKB2 everywhere i type. I just find it annoying switching.
Indeed, there are enough people here in the forum who share your opinion regards the layout. For some people getting used to the diamond arrow key + fn key navigation style simply isn't their cup of tea.
If you would like the Topre-feel with a regular layout, consider the Realforce 87U (tenkeyless, 80%) or the 104U (100%, with numpad). They come in white (well.. more cream white) and black (charcoal gray).
And lastly, you can't do much customisation of the board. There are so many beautiful keycaps and cases etc, but not for the HHKB2. For me thats a big part of the fun of being into keyboards and it's gone with the hhkb2.
There is one easy customization you could do: buy the opposite keycap set separately and mix them, e.g. black board with white caps or vice versa. There are also some colored sets, but they are ABS, so worse plastic (IMHO and YMMV). Check it out on elitekeyboards and mechanicalkeyboards.com. If you google you can find it.
But yeah, overall, Topre-switch has not going a lot of keycaps for them.
Coincidentally and more recently, there is a new trend which is Topre-switch with MX Cherry stems, so that you can put MX Cherry keycaps on Topre switch, like the new
Realforce 108 or the Coolermaster NovaTouch.
Lastly, although this contributed to the "elitism" we Topre-lovers are often reminded of by non-Topre lovers. Many of us argue that HHKB is end game and supreme just because of its unique feel of the case mounted and 45G Topre switch combined with its layout. What is particularly appealing is the fact that, unlike other 60% keyboards, it ditched the esc key in favor of tilde and backtick (~ and `), so you don't feel like you are missing keys. And the diamond key navigation solution is fairly elegant compared to other 60% boards out there. Also, the symmetry of the layout is considered ergonomic by some.
But yeah, Topre may be not your game and you may dislike the HHKB for many things. And that's fine. My intention was to give you some insight into the world of Topre, explain some rationale behind the force that is the Church of Topre, and provide some alternatives you may want to consider before completely ditching the Topre-switch as a whole.
But hate on brother, if that's your game. If Topre sucks for you, it sucks. No problemo.