Thar It Blows: Japanese Whaleburgers

Posted by Adam Kuban, June 23, 2005 at 4:26 PM

Lucky Pierrot, a Japanese fast food chain, has put a whale burger on the menu at its ten restaurants, all based on Hokkaido, the country's northern island and one with strong ties to whaling.

"We fry minke whale meat and the burger really tastes like beef," [Lucky Pierrot] manager Miku Oh said.

"We have decided to add a whale burger to our menu due to strong demand from our customers and feel very thankful to the whales for allowing us to make the burgers," she told [Agence French-Presse].

Despite a 19-year-old international ban on whaling, the whale meat comes from whales killed under a special "research" clause. And this small chain is not the only one trying to rekindle a taste for whale meat. Some schools in Japan are, too:

Earlier this year, most schools in Wakayama, Japan's western whaling heartland, resumed whale lunches which had gone off the menu amid global anti-whaling campaigns.

Hoping children will take a liking to whale, the schools have served the meat in burgers and marinated it in sweet and sour sauce.

Japanese fast food chain launces whale burgers [Yahoo! News]
"Lucky Pierrot is a scary fast food joint with large, not-all-meat hamburgers and other scary stuff." [Japan Homestay Journal]

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