All credit goes to darrylxu and smackus from the comments section of this post: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/91849

Instructions for Shipping

go to http://www.tenso.com click "English" at the top right hand corner sign up for an account, and take down the address they give you

Instructions for Purchasing Kindle (use Google Chrome for auto-translation)

next, if you are happy to use my referral link to check out the kindle paperwhite, go to: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B007OZO03M/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=t... sign up for an account using the address Tenso gave you (if you're stuck this might help: https://www.tenso.com/en/guide/buy/address.html) pay for the kindle at Amazon wait for Tenso to email you with payment instructions and postage cost (which should be about $30)

I know this is a bit fiddly, but it saves $35 from the amazon.com price.

I've been reading up about this and the Japanese version of the kindle paperwhite works exactly like the US version. Hope some of you are willing to go through this process to save a reasonable amount of $$$!