Me and my turtle strolling down the avenue

[Samurai_Jerk]

Giant tortoise walks Tokyo's streets - slowly

turtle.jpg

A huge reptile is on the prowl through Tokyo's streets -- but unlike Godzilla, who stomped across Japan's capital in a blaze of destructive energy, Bon-chan the giant tortoise isn't doing anything very quickly.

The metre- (3-feet-) long African spurred tortoise, which tips the scales at 70 kilogrammes (150 pounds), is a regular sight on the streets of Tokyo's Tsukishima district, as he and owner Hisao Mitani take their snail-paced daily walk.

"My wife just fell in love with him when she saw him at a pet shop, so she brought him home," Mitani, who runs a funeral home, told AFP.

That was 20 years ago, when Bon-chan was small enough to fit into the palm of your hand.

"I sort of knew he would become a good size tortoise but did not think he would be this big."

[Russell]

Didn't know those animals grow so fast.

What did he feed it with? American beef?!?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Didn't know those animals grow so fast.

What did he feed it with? American beef?!?

I don't know how long it took to reach that size but he has had it for 20 years.

[Cyka UchuuJin]

They actually grow to be much bigger than that, but given that he is confined to an apartment, he's probably about 75% what he'd be in the wild.