3 arrested for tweaking Denny’s logo for sexual service company

3 arrested for tweaking Denny’s logo for sexual service company

Well, that's a shame.  It's a shame that these guys, who are so much more enterprising than that Akiba-kei-for-hire NEET fella, ended up in so much trouble.  But trademark infringement is serious business.  Even if you're handy at this kind of job, these kinds of rear entries into the market, no matter how stimulating, rarely result in happy endings.  Whatever position you take on sexual services, surely you can see companies like Denny's resorting to the use of some kind of protection, because if they open themselves wide for this kind of violation they can expect quite a pounding.  On the other hand, before things climaxed this way, perhaps the parties involved could have engaged in a rousing intercourse and consented to some kind of oral agreement of mutual benefit.  I can only hope now the alleged criminals will reach their release at the same time and have some time to reflect on what they have done.

Strangely enough, the wife and I ate at Denny's just this past weekend after having been regulars at Gusto and Joyfull restaurants.  They first sat us in the smoking section, after reassuring us at 11:30am the entire restaurant would be non-smoking.  We lasted just long enough to open the menus.  My nostrils filled with the sharp stink of burning tobacco and I swear I could even taste it on my lips.  She didn't feel much better and asked me if we should simply leave.  I told her that sounded good to me, but when we told the server, she found us a non-smoking table between a mother-daughter pair and a group of older women who decided to stare at me the entire time.  Well, I am quite striking.

Denny's has a lot of pancake desserts on their menu right now.  Pancakes in Japan aren't necessarily breakfast food, the way they are in the US.  They're more like desserts, or sweet snacks.  They did look tasty.  Seeing so many pancakes made my wife long for IHOP, one of her favorite places to eat when she lived abroad.  The rest of the menu, while very attractive, didn't feature much variety.  Lots of hamburger steaks and beef dishes, when I wanted chicken.  They didn't have the green noodles my wife loves, either.  One the other hand, what we ordered tasted very delicious and filled us up.  Right now it seems Joyfull is making an effort to expand their menu-- which is budget-priced compared to Denny's-- and they offer a drink bar.  Gusto does, too.  It will probably be a long time before we choose Denny's again.

Family Restaurants in Japan

We don't exactly have a family, but we go to family restaurants a lot.  They're casual, sometimes the food is delicious and we like them.  Our favorite is probably Gusto, but we spend most of our time at Joyfull.

Joyfull has several advantages over Gusto.  The first is the food is a lot cheaper.  The second is we don't have to drive as far, or we can even walk if the weather is pleasant.  And while the menu choices can't compare in variety even to Denny's, Joyfull features a free-refill drink bar for which they give you free tickets each time you eat there.  We also like the Joyfull "Classic Chocolate Cake," which is almost a brownie wedge and topped with a thick, fudge-like coating and sprinkled with a little powdered sugar.

Besides Joyfull and Gusto, we like Royal Host and Denny's.  Denny's is a classic choice in Japan and hanging out there became such a past time for high school students at one point they even coined the verb deniru, literally meaning, "do Denny's," or to hang out there.  I learned that from a slang book; I've yet to hear anyone actually say it and it probably died out a long time ago.  Hanging at Denny's has not, however.  Royal Host has the best food out of all the family restaurants we've been to, but it's a bit pricey.

We tried Jonathan's in Tokyo, but we were less than impressed.  You may feel otherwise.  There's one in Harajuku that I think makes a fine place to regroup, breathe a little, drink some coffee or tea and then hit the crowds again.

Saizeriya is worth stopping at if you feel the need to try family restaurant dining as well.  It's supposed to be an Italian restaurant, I think, but it feels more like a step up from Joyfull.

What else is there?  I've eaten at TGI Fridays in both Shibuya and Ikebukuro and stuffed my face with American-sized portions of food.  And there are probably many more I've never even heard of.

Then there's this guy.

Check him out.  He's looking at you!

Big Boy has a drink bar... I think.  What I know for certain is Big Boy has some pretty good shoestring fries.  Order a basket and share with friends.  Shoot, order two!