Eating Whale at Tsukiji Fish Market

I will in Japan next week and will be going to the Tsukiji Fish Market while I am there. I would really like to try whale sushimi style. Is it readily available? Would I be able to buy it, or would it be a sensitive issue due to the fact my fellow countrymen (Australian) are pushing hard to ban it?

Due to the fact your fellow countrymen are pushing hard to ban it :) whale meat is rarely available at the market.

I suggest you go to a restaurant called Kujiraya in the middle of Shibuya (next door to 109 shopping mall). There, you can eat whale all year round in a variety of dishes including sashimi.
Sorry their website is only in Japanese.
http://www.kujiraya.co.jp/

But unfortunately, since whale meat today is not always fresh due to the hunting situation, the quality is not always good. I hope you're lucky enough to find something fresh from the fish market, or even a supermarket.

Btw, sashimi is just quality raw meat eaten with special sauce, so you can pick a pack at the market instead of going to a restaurant. As long as it's available at the market, that is.

To add to my question, what is the romanised Japanese word for whale meat?
The script is ƒNƒWƒ‰. Is this the same for the meat you eat (eg difference between pork and pig?).
Thank you for providing an excellent resource.

Note that a lot of what is labeled 'whale' in the shops, isn't always whale, but dolphin or other species. There were reports of mislabeling whale at the same time there were these minor mislabeled beef and pork scandales.

I had seal in Alaska. It taste pretty close to pork but gamier. Fill us in the detail how whale taste like if you ever get the chance to try it.

Thanks for you answers, they are quite helpful. The menu in the restaurant you suggested looks good.

I have had whale meat, but i have only had it barbequed.
It is very simular to beef.
I�Lm going to try to get fresh whale meat tomorrow.
I�Lm lucky enough that a few minsk whales were recently caught outside of iceland.
Osuka

I tried whale meat at a snack bar once. I didn't care for it. But I admire your bravery. I try just about everything while vacationing in Japan. Once I had raw horsemeat with wasabi. It was not bad at all. Have fun and make shure your washing it down with some good drinks.

Instead of eating them i like to watch them swimming.I was told that near Kochi it might be possible to see this. Strange enough i can find hardly any information about whale watching in Japan.

You're an Aussie (just like me) and you want to try whale meat? How dare you!


Haha - actually I'm guilty as well, I have tried it before. It tastes like tough beef with a lot of aroma. I would think it was a special taste, generally pleasing, but the texture was a bit tough.

Compared to Kangaroo, Emu, Horse, Monkey - Whale is the 2nd best tasting behind Kumamoto marbled-horse.

Also I know you can taste bear meat as well, which they sell in Hokkaido.


I think the problem with Japanese fleet whaling in Australian waters isn't because Minke whale is endangered (since it is not, but other species are), but because Japan has gotten this license by disguising it as 'scientific research'...

When is the last time you aim to kill 1000 whales a year to do a research?

I think this is very wrong.

I don't think eating whale is wrong however, we are just equally as guilty eating any other type of meat from a live animal!

�gI don't think eating whale is wrong however, we are just equally as guilty eating any other type of meat from a live animal!

Well said Rough, I went to Japan for a holiday last summer and saw Nishiki Ichiba market in Kyoto. They had whale meat on offer but I didn�ft buy it, in its raw state it looked like tinned spam with a really thick layer of fat. My girlfriend who is Japanese hates the stuff, (taste, smell, texture etc), as she had to eat it as a child. She told me it stinks and is really fatty, so I think I�fll pass. I just don�ft fancy eating liquefied blubber floating in a stew or anything else. I know other cultures have food with a reputation like Scottish haggis, or English black pudding for instance. I�fm not a food snob as I�fm Scottish myself and don�ft like the taste or thought of those things either. Although I do like Umeboshi and Natto, two foods that westerners are meant to hate.

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