There used to be a post called Japanara in the asia section of pprune. This had details of that particular Dash 8 contract. It was really good money...and in Japan the tax rate is only around 5%. Pretty damn good.
And no.....Japan isnt that expensive...only Tokyo...other major cities are quite cheap...the economy is pretty shot and I am proud to say that Australias economy has flown past it.......just check the exchange rates of the last three years. So it was cheap...and if you like beer...most restaurants have a deal that includes a meal and all the booze you can drink for 2 hours for 30bucks.
And the women are HOT!!!