Purchasing iMac in Japan

Question

I'm living in Japan for the next couple years, and thinking about making the switch.
I know that OS X has selectable languages, and that I can buy a US keyboard layout, but I've got a few other questions.
Are the rest of the Apple apps similarly switchable (iApps, Front Row)? Or are there seperate Japanese versions I should avoid.
Are there any other gotchas?

Answer 1

Hi Teman-
I purchased my iMac G5 20" iSight direct from a local Japanese electronics shop.
The first time you start it, it will ask you which language you would like to use.
For the iLife applications- iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, if you set your profile to use English, the menus, help, controls will all be in English. If your profile is set to Japanese, then everything will appear in Japanese.
The cool thing about this is that my wife's profile is in Japanese, and mine is in English. When we switch between ourselves, she gets to use iLife apps in Japanese, and I can keep working in English.
Front Row is the same- her profile is set for Japanese, so when she is logged in, and grabs the remote control, Front Row menus and interface pop up in Japanese. When I am logged in, and grab the remote, I get it all in English.
iWork is the same- English menus and interface for me, Japanese for her. iCal, mail, safari, all of the OS elements automatically appear in English or Japanese, depending on the language settings.
As for Appleworks, you can install the English version from the supplied DVD System disk. You can also the Japanese version of Classic, or the English version- both versions are on disk 2 of the supplied DVD system disks.
Also, although Apple doesn't go out of the way to tell you, the English version of Quicken and the English version of World Fact Book are located on Disk 1 as well- which makes the Japanese retail package identical to the US Package, in terms of bundled 'goodies'.
Keep in mind that bilingual 'friendliness' is true for the Apple branded aps. Other applications, most notibly Microsoft Office for Mac, may NOT have this bilingual friendliness.
If you purchase the Japanese version of MS Office for Mac, and install it, it WILL work if your language choice is English, but all menus and controls will appear in Japanese- NOT in English.
Likewise, the English version of MS Office is in English, even when my wife is logged in with Japanese set as her language.
On the bright side, unlike Windows XP, which shows garbled characters on screen when running Japanese programs in an English OS, OS X never has a problem with showing Japanese on your screen, even if your language display is set to English. Of course, if you can't read Japanese, this doesn't help much.
Lets see... other things...
In the box, if you order retal from other than Apple, all of the hardcopy manuals are in Japanese of course. However, the English version of all manuals are on your hard disk in PDF form.
You can buy the Japanese retail packages of AppleCare and/or .Mac. Although everything in the box is written in Japanese, when you register online for these services, you can do so in English.
It came standard with a wired Japanese keyboard, but of course you can order direct from Apple.jp, and it can come bundled with a wired or wireless English keyboard. The Japanese keyboard has some advantages (most importantly a convenient Eigo and Kana key), and unlike many other Japanese keyboards, the space bar is nearly as large as it ought to be. If you will be doing any Japanese typing, I would recommend it.
Another advantage is that by not buying direct from Apple.jp, you can usually get a slightly better deal- I ended up saving about 20,000 yen by buying the iMac bundled with AppleCare through an electronics store, instead of direct from Apple.
Good luck on your purchase