Can I quickly butt in here and say that although whale meat is certainly eaten in Japan, it is not 'extremely popular'. You'll have a job finding somewhere in Tokyo that will serve it to you.
Ther's a rec here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...88#post5588588

Most of the people I know who've ever eaten it only did so because of some program that encouraged(/s) schoolchildren to try it.

It's not 'extremely popular' at all, not with the general population.

My guess is that it isn't 'extremely popular' for similar reasons to why horsemeat isn't, even with people who feel no qualms about eating them. Unless you developed a taste for it growing up, it's probably not that great a culinary experience. Which could be why the government wants to expose children to their 'culinary heritage'. I actually don't really understand what the real agenda with pursuing an economically unviable and unpopular food such as Whale meat is for the Japanese government.

Blue fin tuna is overfished, it's found in the most exclusive restaurants and the price is high.

Whale meat is overfished, yet there is a restaurant in Shibuya that offers it as part of a 2,000yen menu, it's served as lunch to children at schools and you can get pieces of whale jerky for your dogs.

Any guess as to which tastes better?

Why not try some beer fed, hand massaged wagyu beef instead?