Tokyo, Japan: The world's oldest person says 117 years doesn't seem like such a long time.

Misao Okawa, the daughter of a kimono maker, made the comment Wednesday, at a celebration a day before her 117th birthday. Appropriately, she was wearing a pink kimono decorated with cherry blossom prints.

Okawa, born in Osaka on 5 March 1898, was recognized as the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013.

She's slowed down in recent months and is having trouble hearing, but she still eats well and remains in good health, according to her Osaka nursing home.

Okawa married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had three children — two daughters and a son. She now has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1931.