Old steam locomotive chugs through snowy Hokkaido

     The annual run of an old steam locomotive started in Hokkaido recently with tourists treated to the sight of the smoke-billowing train whistling its way through a snowy wetland in the northernmost main Japanese island.
     Hokkaido Railway Co. operated the locomotive over the weekend between Kushiro and Kawayu-Onsen stations, drawing many train enthusiasts alongside the tracks, and will run it between Kushiro and Shibecha stations from Jan. 30 to March 7 in the Kushiro Wetland.
     ''It's very powerful. I still remember I used to get covered with soot when I rode it,'' a 75-year-old local photographer said.

-Kyodo
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