Those knives from Lee Valley look nice, and VG-10 steel takes an edge pretty easily, and holds it pretty darn well.
However, I caution you that once you dive down the rabbit hole of Japanese knives, it's tough to see your way out. You will find your disdain for the traditional Wusthof and Henkels, etc., drives all your friends crazy, and they will start rolling their eyes when you begin extolling the virtues of carbon steel knives, 10,000 grit waterstones, balsa strops loaded with .25 micron diamond paste, etc.
If you want to check out some other options before you jump in, chefknivestogo dot com will open a whole new world. Right now they have a Torijo DP Damascus Steel Santoku on sale for $80. That's a crazy good deal on a knife that is a full step ahead of the Lee Valley ones.
And if you want some really good advice, the guys at knifeforums dot com are a wealth of info. I am a rank newbie, and they have helped me learn quite a bit before I jumped in and bought my first carbon Japanese blade. Unfortunately, now I have the bug and I stare longingly at many other knives that I can't afford ;-)
Good luck and let us know what you decide,
Bill