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Originally Posted by samurai007
Your experience differs from mine quite a bit... in my 2 years there, I only saw 1 restaurant that served whale meat, and it was in Taiji, a small fishing village with a strong history of whaling. There's even a big whale museum there, and a mini-seaworld, both of which are surprising given the size of the town. But I never saw whale on other restaurant menus... maybe I just didn't go to enough fancy places, though... ramen shops, donburi shops, yakiniku-ya, etc were the kinds of places I ate at, and there are tons of places like that across Japan where you won't see whale on the menu. It's very easy to avoid if you stick to places like that.
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I have to agree...and maybe it is a regional thing...but in three years I only had whale meat two times, and neither time was at a restaurant, but at BBQs at friends house. Both times the whale meat was considered a "treat". Where I lived (in Hyogo) whale meat is in no way a staple food.
What I have read is that the politicians are more adamant about keeping whale meat available than the Japanese population. At least in my experience most Japanese do not eat whale meat, and many are a little embarrassed by the hub-bub caused by their continued whaling. I understand some politicians simply don't like the world telling Japan not to do something it has the right to do (at least in Japan's eyes). I know I am oversimplifying the issue, but that's what I understand...though I enjoy getting all kinds of perspectives.