One of Japan’s busiest transportation lifelines came to a dramatic halt on Wednesday evening after a metre-long snake slithered onto a power line along the Tokaido Shinkansen route, shorting the system and bringing all train services between Tokyo and Osaka to a standstill.
The unusual reptilian disruption occurred at approximately 5:25 p.m. between Maibara and Gifu-Hashima stations, coinciding with the start of Golden Week, a string of national holidays when millions of Japanese citizens travel across the country to visit family and enjoy vacation time. Passengers were left stranded for nearly two hours as engineers worked to restore power, which was finally re-established just after 7:00 p.m.
Despite the outage, conditions inside the stalled trains remained stable. Passengers reported that lights and air conditioning continued to function throughout the ordeal.
“I use the Shinkansen several times a month, but this is the first time I have experienced suspensions due to a power outage,” said Satoshi Tagawa, 46, who was returning to Tokyo when the disruption occurred.
According to Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), the snake had apparently climbed an electrical pole and made contact with the high-voltage overhead line, instantly electrocuting itself and knocking out power along the section.
The timing of the incident proved especially inconvenient, as crowds surge toward Osaka not only for the holidays but also for the Osaka Expo 2025, which officially opened in mid-April and is drawing international visitors in droves.
The Tokaido Shinkansen is Japan’s most traveled bullet train line, linking Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. With over 370 trains running daily and carrying an average of 430,000 passengers, it is a symbol of Japan’s railway punctuality and safety. Since its launch ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the line has transported more than 7 billion passengers without a single injury or fatal accident.
Wednesday’s reptilian interference, however, is not the first of its kind. In April 2024, a 40-centimetre snake caused commotion on a Nagoya-to-Tokyo service after it was spotted inside a carriage. Although it was never found, the entire carriage had to be replaced, resulting in a 17-minute delay. A similar power outage caused by a snake also occurred in 2009, temporarily halting trains between Tokyo and Fukushima.
Despite the inconvenience, JR Tokai remains proud of its near-flawless service record, with average train delays measured in mere seconds. As for the snake? Authorities confirm it did not survive the encounter, proving once again that playing with electricity is a dangerous game, even for nature’s slinkiest commuters.
