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TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Greenpeace's anti-whaling ship Esperanza sailed into Yokohama port on Sunday in a bid to provoke a debate in Japan on the issue of whaling, several days after the vessel was prevented from docking in Tokyo.

The 23 Greenpeace crew aboard the Esperanza had hoped to bring their campaign to Japan, where whaling is considered a cultural tradition, last Tuesday before they were effectively barred from entering Tokyo port.

The ship moored on Sunday at Yokohama, south of the capital, and was awaiting the green light to dock there, Greenpeace officials said.

It was unclear when that would be, Greenpeace said. Yokohama port officials were not immediately available for comment.

"We are extremely happy to be coming into Japan and to have the opportunity to engage in debate and dialogue about the issue of high-seas whaling," Greenpeace's Sara Holden said in a statement.

"We did not give up hope that we would be able to get in, and we hope the fact that many people were still prepared to help us sends a clear signal that Greenpeace is welcome in Japan."

Last month Japan abandoned its Antarctic whale-hunting season after fire crippled its main whaling vessel and killed one crew member. Greenpeace offered to take the ship in tow but the Japanese declined.

The environmental group said its attempt to dock in Tokyo last week had been blocked by the All Japan Seamen's Union, which had pressured the ship's agent to withdraw services.

A spokesman for the seamen's union denied that it had exerted any pressure to keep Greenpeace out or was in a position to give permission for their landing or not.

He added, though: "Some of these activists seem a bit close to terrorism, so for this reason we don't want them to enter."

The fire-damaged 8,000-tonne Nisshin Maru limped back into its home port last month with a haul of 508 whales.

The blaze had raised fears that oil or chemicals could spill into the Southern Ocean near the world's biggest colony of Adelie penguins.

This year's hunt was marked by clashes with anti-whaling groups, mainly the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, one of whose boats was damaged in an incident with a Japanese vessel.

Sea Shepherd activists also poured acid on the decks of the Nisshin Maru to halt the crew's work, slightly injuring two.

On Tuesday, the head of Japan's whale hunt called for legal action against anti-whaling activists including Greenpeace, although both the government and the institute sponsoring the whaling programme said they were not considering such a move.

Japan began its scientific whaling programme a year after an international ban in 1986. The meat ends up on supermarket shelves and restaurant tables, but consumer appetite for it is waning.

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