HOKKAIDO (TR) – Hokkaido Prefectural Police have arrested a 23-year-old man after he allegedly used a chainsaw to fell a tree onto railway cables in eastern part of the prefecture simply to get a better photograph of a scenic train, reports STV News (Oct. 14).
Kodai Watanabe, a resident of Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture was arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of endangering railway traffic.
According to police, on September 30, Watanabe trespassed onto JR Senmo Line property in the town of Kushiro and used a chainsaw to chop down a tree. The felled tree subsequently struck and snagged a railway communication cable.
Upon his arrest, the suspect fully admitted to the allegations.
“There is no mistake that I cut a tree along the tracks with a chainsaw and knocked it down, catching the cable,” Watanabe told investigators.
According to investigative sources, Watanabe’s reckless actions were driven by an obsession to capture the perfect shot of the “Yuhino Norokko-go” (Sunset Norokko) sightseeing train.
“The weather was great, and it was my last chance to shoot the train,” Watanabe was quoted as saying. “I wanted to take a good photo. I wanted to improve the conditions, even just a little bit, so I cut the tree with a chainsaw.”
Railway photography enthusiasts have been flocking to the JR Senmo Line in droves since August, when the railway operator announced the upcoming final run of the popular Kushiro Shitsugen Norokko-go train.