4. Taiji Whale MuseumTaiji Cho Taiji is a town located in Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2011, the town had an estimated population of 3,428 and a population density of 541 persons per km2. The total area is 5.96 km2. Taiji is the smallest local government by area in Wakayama Prefecture because, unlike others, it has not experienced a merger since 1889, when the village of Moriura was merged into Taiji. Taiji shares its entire overland border with the town of Nachikatsuura and faces the Pacific Ocean. Taiji has long been well known as a whaling town and spearheaded the development of more sophisticated whaling techniques in the 17th century. In 1988, a ruling by the International Whaling Commission caused Taiji to suspend commercial whaling. However, the town continues to hunt small wh... From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.