I would not recommend someone who is not familiar with topre to buy HHKB just because of the hype. HHKB is a very minimalist keyboard that will require alot of key combos that as many of geekhackers will agree, will take sometime to get used to. While it is good for programmers who perhaps like it for its simplicity and is proficient at typing out key combos at ease as their job require typing out those arcane words at fairly fast rate.
Otherwise, i recommend, get either RealForce 104U or 87U.
PS; i dont own a topre or a HHKB, but, i had been creeping the Topre walkways crawling with HHKB fnatic geekhackers. 
And , this is wad i gather: forgive and correct me if i wrong.
I need advice from fellow geekhackers,
I am currently using well known red-switch 6GV2 from steelseries, and i am thinking i want to try those blue clicky tactile switches that is quite famous. I am thinking Filco 104 keys with camoflage textured board for gamers. However, as i mentioned earlier, as i delve deeper into this geekhack forums infested with HHKB worshippers, i myself had been infected with the carnal need for a Topre switch.
But, i am not yet rich like you guys, ok? So i am thinking Topre Type Heaven. Why dont i see anyone talk about Type Heaven? Even though it is made in China, i believe the Topre Keys switch quality will still be the same. And, does Abs keycaps means the keycaps on your 28 dollar logitech keyboard right? then i can like with that. Topre cost 250 at X-treme solutions shop in Singapore.
So, should i get Filco blues and a Type Heaven. at 220 and 250 respectively. Or Get a REalforce 104U at knock-you-down price of 450 sing dollars.\
Or should i restrain myself from getting type heaven and get my filco first, then save up and buy a realforce later?
And, i had been reading in this thread topre feels like rubber dome? is that true? I mean what is this whole point of topre switch when it feels like rubberdome?
I am slightly new to geekhack, so if i offend folks here in anyway , do forgive me
Do you guys think i'm going to be underwhelmed by topre if i'm coming from a laptop chiclet keyboard (Probable the worst thing i have ever typed on)
I was told it would be that good of a feeling if i had come from mx switches.
It's all personal preference some love topre some hate topre the only way to know what you will like is to try it out.
I very much agree with what SpAmRaY said there, at the end of the day everyone has their own tastes and comparing tastes can be just as deadly as playing with fire imo.
On the other hand I find there's a fair bit of misunderstanding from your part (lonedruid).
The first reason is that HHKB is expensive because it just seems to be at this time of the year. Hasu pointed out the prices for HHKB and they were much expensive compared towards end of last year and the start of this year. Apart from that HHKB is partly popular because of the design that was collaborated with a UNIX guy whom suggested the idea of Sun keyboard but minimal layout.
The 60% layout whilst not new but has taken to new highs being the fact that they are portable as well as the possibly (only just a possibility) that it may have lesser strain on fingers. In short the HHKB's virtues were to only bring out the most used keys and push the rest through Fn or otherwise omitted. Granted that one has to use Fn keys should they want to access other keys that are normally found on a normal keyboard as a dedicated key but one does not have to reach far to hit the keys. Such keys are notably the F1-F12 keys. If one were running linux for instance, they would instantly know that Ctrl+Alt+F1-F12 are the hotkeys to access 12 virtual terminals (most of them by default a login prompt followed by Xorg if installed and running and five blank terminals for one to put on whatever they want). Most GUI users would probably not understand the reasons of a CLI terminal but in the *nix realm, CLI plays a vital part just as what a GUI would offer but in different ways. Of course there are a few linux distros already trying to sort of forbade the one the default amount of virtual terminals and/or try to make it so that it would be more like windows where CLI is virtually frowned upon. There still is a need for one to use a virtual terminal when something messes up with linux GUI. I used to say to some windows converts that,"linux does not roll over and play dead when the GUI dies." still remains mostly true to this day. So the need for one to access CLI terminals is just as vitally important. Now how does that blend in with HHKB? if you look at a regular full sized keyboard, the F1-F12 keys are all dedicated keys and separate from the actual alphabetical inputs (along with the numeric numbers on top and some of the key modifiers). When you look at HHKB, the F1-F12 keys are accessible via Fn and so accessing a virtual terminal under linux it just requires one to press Fn keys along with a numeric key on top to do whatever they want. By fully extending my fingers over my HHKB in roughly the way how touch typist would have their hands are in position on the keyboard. I could easily see my ring, middle and index finger could easily reach the number keys on top. Compare that with a full sized keyboard where I guess one cannot easily reach the dedicated F1-F12 keys without having to shift their hands up just to reach it (and by that time it wouldn't really be deemed touch typing because mostly the index finger will be doing the work).
Of course that is just one prime example of why HHKB may seem better, I could probably go on for almost an hour going through what other advantages a 60% layout would generally have over a full sized keyboard. Anyway, there are many 60% keyboards that are available out there apart from HHKB. To me I still believe the rest of the 60% boards that are available out there whilst unique and maybe better than HHKB but HHKB was the one that started the craze (again). Definitely HHKB was not the founder of 60% form factor but it helped (in my sense) reignite that interest. Most of the other 60% keyboards share the same layout, where Caps lock is found on a full sized keyboard is also found on the 60% keyboard. That is not the case with HHKB. One can easily see that the Control key right fully takes the place of Caps lock. To me there is more chance that I would use the Control key more than a Caps lock, besides when writing things in capitals I get the sense of an old IRC netetiquette saying that typing in capitals are basically giving others the impression that you are shouting. Apart from that why else would one really need to use Caps lock most of the time compared to say Control? I could easily see under windows shortcuts (amazingly most of them are the same under linux GUI) that one uses things like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, etc. So wouldn't it be somewhat more logical to place the Control key in a more higher position than the Caps lock key? I am not so sure why other 60% boards don't come with the same option as HHKB in terms of Control/Caps lock placement but I guess there maybe some patent involved that may prohibit others from copying HHKB. Even if the real answer is not that, I guess most users would like the layout found on a normal full sized keyboard to be roughly the same as a 60% layout. The HHKB therefore in a sense is quite different in understanding that one does not need Caps lock in it's original position and that something like Control would be better suited.
Having mentioned two of the most fundamental issues I guess there is still one more left to mention but this is not so much of a fundamental issue. Topre switches are not necessairly cheap, they were designed and manufactured originally in Japan. You can sort of imagine the price for labour is generally not cheap in Japan even at that Japanese tends to set a high price for their items to give buyers the confidence that there is a good chance the said product has gone through checking before it is sold. PFU also being a Japanese brand chooses Topre for a sort of mechanical switch seems to be somewhat naive but a logical choice. By having (either all or most) of the HHKB Pro's production to be residing in Japan, it sort of gives one some sense of confidence knowing that they are backed by quality. Also the lack of Topre keyboard manufacturers may tend to give the impression that HHKB is the only choice out there for a 60% board and with Topre switch hence it may allow PFU to raise the price up due to lack of competitors I guess.
Cherry MX on the other hand were made in Germany, not saying that labour is cheaper in Germany than it is compared to Japan as that would be the wrong sort of statement. However, because Cherry MX became popular that it flooded the keyboard mechanical switches market, there are lots of manufacturers, vendors, etc happily boasting Cherry MX. Inevitably it brings competition and competition drives prices down. Again this is not so much the case for the HHKB let alone Topre whom there are less than a handful of manufacturers out there that would be willing to use a Topre switch. The lack of compeition could only mean two things:
1) There might be not enough interest. Again this is only in comparison to Cherry MX and/or
2) Topre may have restricted their operations to be only for Japanese companies. In other words other OEMs bearing Topre switches may most likely have to be also a Japanese brand to boot. This is only a possibility not a definite cause, and this could be the reason why Topre seems to be more expensive as there are very few manufacturers big enough to have their own keyboard and all with Topre switch.
Something that might be of a worthy note (but not as much as the rest) to point out here is that HHKB seems to also share its fame with people that comes with *nix or mixed (*nix and windows, etc) background. As a linux user myself whilst not easily swayed that HHKB are used by notable programmers but because I can totally see the handiness in the design of the HHKB that is one of the many reasons why I have chosen to go with HHKB. Not necessarily because of its fame but because of the practicality. The fame is sort of like side dish compared to practicality within the linux usage. That is not to say that HHKB is unpopular with other platforms, but again one may find a charming view of HHKB once they understood the layout and appreciates it.
This is all coming from a bloke/guy who does not do proper programming but can see the elegance with HHKB even from a non-programmer's perspective.
At the end of the day I have no qualms with Cherry MX, though my choice with HHKB was by far for me the most logical choice when I have appropriately done my homework and have weighed pros and cons. There are people who will appreciate Topre, there will be people that will appreciate Cherry MX, there will be people that will appreciate other key switches (such as pentograph (I think that's how it is spelt), buckling switches, hall effect, beam spring, membrane, etc) but that makes me point back to what SpAmRaY said and basically it is,"To each their own".
