19-year-old GIANT TORTOISE takes a stroll through the streets of Tokyo

Bon-chan, a giant tortoise, slowly strolled through Tokyo's streets, to the delight of the many Japanese people he met along his very slow journey. The  3-feet-long, 70 kilograms (150 pounds), male African spurred tortoise, is owned by Hisao Mitani.

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MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Bon-chan is a regular sight on the streets of Tokyo's Tsukishima district. He and his owner, Hisao Mitani, bond by taking their very, very slow walks around the district.

Mitani owns and runs a funeral home. Two decades have passed since he first met Bon-chan, back when the giant tortoise was small enough to fit into the palm of his hand.

Now, Bon-chan, 19, prefers to eat cabbage and carrots, gently taking them out of the hands of children who rush to greet him. He lives in a pen at his owner's funeral home.

"Some people may say it's absurd to keep such a big tortoise at the entrance of a funeral service. But even in their time of sadness, people smile when they see him, so I don't think it's a bad idea to have him," said the undertaker.

The turtle has become a celebrity figure in the neighborhood, with his size and the fact that he gets dressed up in a frilly coat during the cold months. In Japan, tortoises like Bon-chan serve as a symbol of longevity.

In fact, Mitani is actually known in their area as the "immortal tortoise man" or "kame sennin" in Japanese, although Mitani cheerfully and humorously admits that he's not likely to live forever.

"I hear this kind of reptile lives for about 80 years, so it's certain that I will go before him," said the 62-year-old.

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