I had WHALE for lunch, how bout you?

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Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Another day working in the freezing cold. No, I'm not a road or construction worker. I teach in a Junior High and as most public schools here in Japan, classrooms dont have heaters, and our superficially heated faculty room offers no relief at all

However my day was made special when my school lunch was served. For today we had the usual bread, soup, cheese, yougurt drink and for the very first time in my life............ WHALE, cooked with tomato sauce, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and potatoes. It tasted really good, its like eating beef, only its not very tender nor very firm. It also had a very mild taste that makes it, I guess more palatable to the Japanese taste buds in comparison to the strong taste of beef. Well should I eat WHALE meat again....... hmmmmmmm..... if it is made available at a cheap price, yes I certainly would.

I know Japan's whale hunting is still an ongoing controversy. But what the heck, who really had the authority to tell people what not to eat. Based on the reactions and small talks amongst the students and teachers as we ate our lunch, you know that eating WHALE is part of their culture and tradition. I heard the word "oishikatta" delicious so many times, which I never heard them say as often during our past lunches.

If beauty, intelligence or cutness is the basis of deciding which animal dont get eaten, then I should start protesting the Aussies for eating kangaroo, for they are very cute and lovely creatures. Just look at them caring for their young on their pouches and tell me they deserve to be eaten.

Well but then again that just me and my simple tought process.

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Photos

whale for lunch
whale cook with tomato sauce, soy sauce, ginger and potatoes

Comments

[travellingmum]

Food is food, I dont like the idea of killing whales at all... but if they want to eat it, how about they only kill the whales that are in their waters, around the islands of Japan. I think that is most peoples anger comes from - also I read somewhere that they make smaller pacific nations allow them to hunt whales in their islands in exchange for aid etc, well desperate people will do anything to help themselves

[travellingmum]

more thoughts...
thanks for your comment, I have enjoyed reading your blogs too.. I would also love to live in Japan... we are a homestay family so often have japanese people live with us. On the kangaroo front, if it is in your country you can eat it... they are hunting whales not in their country... plus we have lots of kangaroos and they are considered a pest in some areas! Kangaroos are culled to keep down the numbers, so I suppose they are putting the meat to use... that said, I have heard that Australia is the only country to eat the animal on its coat of arms!! I have eaten kangaroo about 2 times. It is ok but a bit gamey for me.

[Aries and Rinka]

Thanks for your comments, now Im beginning to understand the conviction from both sides. Nice to hear that you are a homestay family. We are planning to send our son to Australia in the future though that's gonna be for quite a long time. My son is American but the distance and cost of sending him to the US will certainly put a huge dent on our finances. So Im really interested to know other options from nearby English speaking countries. I want to make sure my son grows up fluent in Japanese and English.