Can We Interest You in a Whale Meat Spring Roll?

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  06.24.09 | 10:22 AM ET

Uh oh. A group of restaurateurs in Yokohama, Japan, is looking to embrace the port city’s whaling heritage with a slew of new recipes—including whale dumplings, whale spring rolls and whale bacon. “Whale meat is a very important part of Japanese tradition,” one of the leading businessmen behind the push told the AFP. “If whaling is not done to excess, I think this is a great thing. ... Whale meat is delicious, high in protein, low in fat.”

Delicious or not, I can already hear the howls of protest from animal-rights activists worldwide.

Tags: Eco Travel, Food, Restaurants, Wildlife, Asia, Japan, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum. Her writing has also appeared in the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet's Up! Magazine, among other publications. She's based in Ottawa, Canada.


2 Comments for Can We Interest You in a Whale Meat Spring Roll?

Malcolm Green 06.24.09 | 6:54 PM ET

This isn’t new. Whale meat is on the market in Japan, and has been for decades. And will be for decades to come as well I expect.

opala edo 07.10.09 | 1:18 AM ET

I agree with Malcom Green that this is old news but for first-timers to Japan who are not used to the culture of living off the sea for survival, this sort of cuisine would seem offensive and provides a lot of shock value to readers in the western world.

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