A Japanese man, who bought a custom-made collie costume to turn himself into a dog, has gone out in public for a walk.

The man, who goes by the moniker, Toco, uploaded a July 21 video of himself out and about in public as a dog for the very first time -- with a leash on.

His US$14,000 (S$18,600) costume was on show.

The man, who provides periodic updates as a dog on his YouTube channel, has been showcasing his antics, which include frolicking on the lawn and playing fetch.

What video showed

In the latest video, passers-by along the busy street could only marvel in awe -- or were too polite to express any other feelings publicly.

Dogs ran away in fright though as the man was clearly much bigger than the average dog.

Toco completed the look with a harness strapped around his abdomen.

However, he admitted he was “nervous” and “scared” of venturing out in public.

“Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard,” he wrote in the clip.

He also described his life-long dream to be a dog as seemingly “unrealistic”.

He admitted: “I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside.”

Life-long dream

In 2022, Toco answered questions in a video and admitted that he always “had a vague dream of becoming an animal” ever since he was a child.

“When I fulfilled that dream, this is how it turned out,” he wrote in the clip.

He explained that he chose to be a collie as the breed and humans were similar in size.

But Toco also admitted that he conceals his dream from most of his friends and family.

“I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird,’ he said in a separate interview with The Mirror previously.

Costume took 40 days to create

Zeppet, the company that manufactured Toco’s collie costume, said it took 40 days to create the furry costume, which cost a cool $2 million yen.

In May 2022, the costume then cost S$21,600 as the Japanese yen was stronger.

Over time, the currency depreciated.

In March 2023, the costume was the equivalent of S$20,000.

Now it is worth S$18,600.

All media via I want to be an animal YouTube