Snake on bullet train causes unscheduled stop in Shizuoka

Give the snake a cute little hat and uniform and appoint him the honorary station master. Isn't that the standard protocol?

Train staff made announcements asking if any passengers had misplaced a snake,

can you imagine that announcement?? Would have paid money to see the look on people's faces..

Somebody should make a movie about this

Yes- Snakes on a train! Yikes!!

Gaijindesu,

You have it backwards, most often when people & snakes encounter each other the snake ends up dead sadly, when all you have to do is walk around or away, snakes even poisonous ones are HARMLESS if you just leave them alone.

I routinely encounter snakes in my yard & surrounding area, often poisonous ones, just watch them then leave them be, incredibly easy to do!

I'm tired of these snakes on this train!!!

Snakes on a train. Where is Samuel L JAckson when you need him?

With the notoriety of chikan, I was expecting trouser snakes.

I thought snakes only took planes.

Train staff made announcements asking if any passengers had misplaced a snake, but no one came forward and police were still looking for the owner, media added.

Right, and charge the person who claimed the snake for obstruction.

It is also possible that the snake found it's own way onto the train too.

Yaa its definitly a pet snake. hisssssssssss

disillusioned,

You are likely thinking of the Aodaisho(green general) Green Rat Snake that can get to 2m but the biggest I have come across might have been 1.5m was an impressive beast! There is also a area I think in Hiroshima where there is a large number of albino Aodaisho around a shrine or temple, pretty rare phenomenon, and they are worshipped as gods!

Also farmers like have these around their building as they eat rats & mice. Couple years back one showed up in my yard & gobbled all the eggs out of a birds nest, the Mrs was not happy tho!!!

The fastest snake in Japan, for a while at least...

The snake must have escaped from his/her backpack/bag. He/she was probably traveling with this beloved pet. It seems that he/she wants it back but can't report to JR police because of large compensaton to JR.

Saw this on TV, the snake is native to Japan its called a jimuguri, or burrowing Rat Snake, found throughout Japan but not often seen as the name implies they prefer to be hidden, often underground. I like herps, live in the sticks & rather see these little snakes, they get no longer than 1m often smaller.

Just let him go in a nearby forested area & he will be fine, no big deal

Despite its menacing appearance, the brown snake was not believed to be poisonous and no injuries were reported, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK,

It was a blessed relief that the snake was not venomous. If it had been a poisonous snake they would have been thrown into utter confusion or like fighting snakes, if you will.

Apparently, one tiny snake is all you need to get off anywhere you want!

Pity I wasn't there. I'd have taken it home.

Give the snake a cute little hat and uniform and appoint him the honorary station master. Isn't that the standard protocol?

Brilliant!!

I caught this news while at the gym and although I abhor snakes, when I saw the captive snake yawn, I thought, "Poor fella, he's quite tired of the attention." (!!!!!)

There is a non-venomous brown snake native to Japan that grows to about 1.5 meters. It's a rat snake, but I don't know what it's called in Japanese. Most people do not know the difference or species of snakes. Therefore, it is wise to treat all snakes as poisonous and, as stated above, just leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. The poisonous snake 'mamushi' is quite common in the kanto area, which is also a brown snake (with a small diamond like patterning). These snakes are actually quite aggressive if aggravated. The Okinawa Habu viper kills a few people every year, 99% of which west trying kill it or catch it to put in sake. Leave all snakes alone!

Funny how you get down voted for stating facts. Pythons are not poisonous. But would you go to bed with one?

@GW

I don't see how we contradict each other here. We're talking different things really. This and other articles seem to imply that whether a snake is dangerous, is based on if it's venomous. When in reality, many snakes can potentially maim or kill, whether they're venomous or not.

As to your point, I wholeheartedly agree. Leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone. Same applies to many wild lives.

Wonder if it had a ticket.

Snakes alive ! I misread (seems to happen quite often...) the title : "Shake on bullet train causes unscheduled stop in Shizuoka..." With all the earthquakes Japan has been experiencing these days, could very well have been the case... When I realized my error, it made ME shake ! So lucky I wasn't on that train !

This, however, made me LOL...

Train staff made announcements asking if any passengers had misplaced a snake

Did anyone think about dropping a carry-on on the head? Self defense force was needed, not the military, but common sense.

@Alistair

It's "the bag" for you, mate!

It was looking for the green car, I would start the search there.

Someone get these mother mods off this mother site.

@Tom DeMicke: "Wonder if it had a ticket."

Ha-ha. Very witty. ;‑)

Is SuperHans on a trip to Japan ?

Let's not get the mistaken notion that a non poisonous snake can't hurt or kill.