If you’re not a cat or a dog person, consider the next best thing: a giant tortoise similar to this man’s faithful reptile companion.
This elderly man has become a familiar sight in the streets of Tsukishima, Tokyo, where he takes his pet African-spurred turtle for a walk every day.
A gentle tortoise, who sometimes wears a frilly pink pajama top, faithfully follows its owner through the bustling neighborhood even without a leash. Even though it probably takes them a while to make their way around on foot, they look happy to take their sweet times together. Just a man and his tortoise.
Bon-chan is 25 years old. Mr. Mitani’s wife purchased him when he was smaller in size than the size of the thumb of her hand. He was expected to get bigger, but not this big! And he grew rapidly once he reached ten years old. “He now weighs 150 pounds, which is about 70 kilograms.”
African Spurred Tortoises are the third-largest species of tortoises worldwide. It can take more than twenty years to reach their full adult size, and although they start out small, they can grow to be up to 200 pounds. Bon-chan is pretty ordinary for this kind of tortoise.
The narrator further explains how Mitani takes Bon-Chan for long walks, saying locals will definitely see Bon-Chan taking a walk from 3 to 5 p.m. on a lovely day.
According to Mitani, he takes the tortoise for a walk twice a month and the tortoise enjoys their walks together.
“Bon-chan knows the route by heart and is very strong-minded, so it is more me than follows him than the other way around. “We walk the neighborhood, and we’re pretty well known around here,” he said.
The tortoises are known to be very intelligent and don’t like to be cooped up.
Mitani also said that he has an instant bond with Bon. “I’ve never had any children,” he said, “but 19 years ago, my wife fell in love with this little tortoise.”
I couldn’t leave the store without it. “But we didn’t know he would become so big. He knows everything about me – if he could speak, I would be in trouble!”
Bon-chan is popular in the community, and people love to greet the pair.
