A bullet train on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line in Japan was halted at Maibara Station on Monday to capture a 1-meter snake found lounging on a passenger seat. The red-and-black snake, believed to be a nonvenomous Honduran milk snake, was spotted at 8:55 a.m. between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto, according to Central Japan Railway Co. None of the 200 or so passengers on the Tokyo-bound train were injured. The snake was captured by the staff of an animal protection center near Maibara Station, the next stop after Kyoto for Tokyo-bound bullet trains.
The snake is probably a pet brought onboard by a passenger who failed to notice that it had escaped from its cage, it said, adding that police are searching for the owner. JR group companies ask passengers not to bring animals other than small birds and fish in containers into train cars.