Life Stories: A Strange and Wonderful Association

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A Strange and Wonderful Association

Frank Cotolo
18 April 2008

When I was nine-years-old I was struck on the head with a tour-guide book of Tokyo, a bound publication large enough to cause a major bump on my scalp. However, the bump was normal; what was abnormal was that ever since the incident I have known numerous facts about Japan's great capital city. It's as if the information from the book permeated my brain upon impact.

Go figure.

As far as I know, I never visited Tokyo as a youngster. I may have gone there when I was thirteen with a family of unknown origin but all of my remembrances as a teen are suspect since the operation on my inner ear at age twelve. That operation would have been routine except for the fact that the surgeon had only five fingers due to a poor choice of gestures at a Benihana restaurant a week before my surgery.

But I do know a lot about Tokyo. The one in Japan, that is.

First, let me say that this is very big city, one that might be the largest city in the world, especially when you consider its size. of it. Tokyo includes many other cities, towns and villages and contains over 17 million people. I could name them but that would take up too much space.

Akasaka is the high-class area of the city and a great word for playing with words. Like: A-ka-sa-ka, bak-ala-ka, wok-a-pock-a ... well, you get the idea. People in Akasaka, though, aren't much for playing with words. They like to spend money and spend they do when they go to restaurants, stores and clubs. Everything in Akasaka is overpriced if you compare it with New York City's Delancy Street, at least.

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Then there is Akihabara, which a lot of people confuse with Abrakadabra. The latter is not a city in Japan. In fact it isn't a place; it's a stupid word magicians use, and I don't even believe magicians actually perform magic, do you? Anyway, Akihabara has the largest concentration of electronics shops in the world, although I hear talk that there is a neighborhood in Turkey rapidly approaching that status. If you are looking for electronic hardware, Akihabara is the place to shop.

Don't listen to people on the street who tell you that it is better to buy electronic stuff at Shinjuku West Exit because Akihabara is the place to go shopping in Tokyo for electronics.

Did I mention that I needed stitches when the tour-guide book of Tokyo hit my head? Because I didn't need stitches and that would have been a lie. What matters most, though, especially now as I fill you in about Tokyo, is that there have been many sightings throughout Tokyo of a man people believe is Elvis Presley.

The question remains, however, that if Elvis Presley did not die, why would he go to Tokyo? And if he did, would he be interested in electronic hardware available in Akihabara? I do know this: Elvis would love to sing A-ka-sa-ka, bak-ala-ka, wok-a-pock-a ... well, you get the idea.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles, every Thursday starting at 9 pm on Network 1KX.