Is this Vivalo worth importing...?

When the frame is all the way over in Japan it undoubtedly helps to have someone more knowledgable to give you a few hints. it would be like buying a house with only a glance-over because you fell in love with it at first sight. Then only to have a surveyor come tell you it's full of rot and is going to end up costing you about 3 times what it did in the first place!

Now that I've thought about this frame a little more, I think I would prefer to buy something that I could see and touch first!

But Aran this is true of any bike you buy off ebay, or any other website, you never know the full true condition until you get it in your hands and start to build it up. you have to hope and trust that the bike/frame is as described, and the seller is honest with you. Whether the bike comes from tokyo or torquay its still the same situation, except you've got to pay more for the bike to come from tokyo. If you want to see and touch the bike then ebay and online purchases without personal contact probably aren't best for you.

Good luck finding the right bike for you, just enjoy riding it when you get it. ;-)