Lentorama 2019: Resurrect My Globe!

Day 3: Japan

As you might expect, Japan doesn't have much by way of Easter traditions, given that less than one percent of the country is Christian.

What I did find, though is that the Tully's Coffee chain does serve Easter-specific drinks. I mention this more to talk about the chain, as it has a colorful history, at least in the US.

Tully's was founded in the Seattle area in 1992, and grew to have hundreds of locations in the western US and Asia. Unfortunately for them, the period of their greatest expansion was during the recession in the 2000s, which caused cashflow problems. They raised some quick cash by selling off part of the company, but couldn't stave off bankrupty.

Here's where things get weird. The company was bought out of bankruptcy by an investment group that included the actor Patrick Dempsey. He would later pull out of the group, and file a lawsuit against one of his partners: Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti. A year ago today the chain announced it would close its remaining North American stores.

But in Japan you can still stop in, and apparently get your fix with bunny ears included.