Whale of a curry for Tokyo lunch

Many Japanese people remember the taste of whale from their childhood.

TOKYO - It's lunchtime in Tokyo and those with a taste for slaughtered whale are spoiled for choice.

From whale schnitzel to whale bacon, whale stew, whale curry or just a simple whale steak, it is all for sale at specialty whale store Yushin or at the popular restaurant Kujiraya, which translates as Whale Restaurant.

When I stopped by Kujiraya this week the sleek, modern-looking eatery was packed with Japanese patrons with one thing in common: an appetite for whale.

On the menu are the significant parts of the giant sea mammals left over after scientists are finished with whales caught in the name of research.

"It's tasty and tangy," reports satisfied customer Haruki Kusano, 40, a visiting Osaka businessman who has just tucked into a plate of fried whale, accompanied by miso soup, rice and pickled vegetables.

Mr Kusano fondly remembers the flavours of whale from the days when it was a regular inclusion in his school lunches, but now he treats himself to the meat once every month or so.

"At the moment it's expensive, but if that changed I would eat it more often," he says. Yesterday's lunch plate cost him 1250($16.20).

For Mr Kusano's business colleague, Yukiko Inoue, 37, whale is an extremely rare part of her diet - until this week, the last time she ate it was three years ago. But she believes in the Japanese scientific programme that has been criticised by anti-whaling nations as a guise for commercial whaling.

"It's not just for eating, it's also for research," she says of her country's whale catch.

"Other countries have their own food culture, so I don't think they can criticise each other's food culture.

"Australians eat kangaroos and I think that's a pity," says Ms Inoue.

Kujiraya manager Kuwaka Shoji says the 55-year-old restaurant opens seven days and serves up to 500 people a week, but the clientele is ageing.

"People 45 and older, it's very popular for those people because they used to eat it when they were little, so it brings back those old memories and it reminds them of the old days," he says.

And while fried whale and whale sashimi are the most popular dishes, those with more exotic tastes are also catered for on the delicacy menu that includes jaw gristle, sliced skin, intestine and raw belly meat.

"We eat everything, we don't throw any part of it away," explains Mr Shoji.

While Kujiraya is one of just two specialty whale restaurants in Tokyo, more than 70 other restaurants in the vast metropolis serve the dish.

For home chefs, the main port of call is at the Yushin gourmet whale store, the official retail outlet for the Japanese research programme that sells several varieties of canned whale meat as well as frozen sashimi, intestines, stomach, blubber, and skin.

The shelves are also stocked with seven varieties of bacon, and patrons are prepared to pay 2600 for 160g of top-quality sashimi.

On the menu

Kujiraya Whale Restaurant

Whale meat boiled down in soy sauce $9.85

Gristle of the whale upper jaw $11.15

Sliced whale skin $11.15

Boiled whale caudal fin $11.15

Sliced whale tongue $11.15

Whale tongue stew $15.50

Smoked whale meat $11.15

Whale intestine $11.15

Sliced raw whale belly meat $12.70

Sliced raw whale heart $12.70

Bacon of whale meat $19.50

Five kinds of whale dainty bits $42.70