Yikes, talk about rear weight bias. I wonder how it rides.

Why not? Believe me I've spent plenty of hours cursing aluminum, but you can't get a better price/weight tradeoff. It's almost as light and slightly more durable than carbon and much cheaper. Is it really worth pedaling around the extra weight of steel when in all likelihood your bike will end up getting stolen or totaled in a crash before you pass it on to your heirs?

As far as getting stuff from japan. This site is in the business of exporting stuff available at japanese retail (they mostly deal with electronics...but perhaps they can accommodate you):
http://www.pricejapan.com
I ordered from them and deposited paper cash directly into their account at bank of america...so they're very honest.