Hello, I've been lurking on /r/mk for a while but recently started to take the plunge on getting more serious about keyboards after ordering the recently-released GMK WoB Hiragana keyset!
I got my first "proper" mechanical keyboard back in around 2006/2007, the original Das Keyboard in ISO layout. After that I moved to Japan and got used to the JIS layout, so after a couple of years there I bought the HHKB Professional JP. For the past few years I've been using the keyboard that came with my iMac Pro, which is a good keyboard, but as I've been working from home recently and using my own computer more I started getting a hankering for getting back into mechanical keyboards.
My main interest is in fairly minimal keyboards (60% or 75% keyboard+numpad, I don't need no arrow keys :-P), with JIS layout. I realise this puts me in a bit of a niche, as even in Japan ANSI layout is very popular, but I actually use the hiragana input method to type in Japanese, and I frequently use the buttons either side of the space bar to switch back and forth between English and Japanese, so non-JIS layout is a non-starter for me now. I know I won't always get it, but I want to speak up and make my voice heard on the JIS issue just so people are aware that there are people who want it, even if we are a bit of a niche market.
I'm also a big fan of hiragana-only keysets. I like the look of the upcoming Masterpiece and Sumi sets, and I will be lending my voice to the call looking for full JIS support going forward!
よろしくお願いします！
