An elderly Japanese man and his giant African pet tortoise Bon-Chan have become an Internet sensation after pictures of them walking around parts of downtown Tokyo went viral.

When the tortoise is not enjoying a walk, he lives in a wooden enclosure designed by the owner himself and chomps on vegetables and fruits, including carrots, lettuce and apples.

Bon-chan, also named Master Roshi in reference to a character from the popular Japanese cartoon series Dragon Ball Z, has not been weighed in a while but the owner thinks that his pet is probably around 70 kilograms.

The Japanese holiday O-bon inspired the name Bon-chan which were taking place around the time when the tortoise was bought by the owner¡¯s wife.

Difficult words: enclosure (an open area with walls for an animal to live inside), chomp (chew noisily).