It started well with a couple of bags of deep fried dried bean curd after the train trip up from Tokyo via Utsunomiya to Nikko.

This was in readiness for the walk up the hill to the national park. We decided to avoid the tourist buses – partly to enjoy the walk and partly because we couldn’t work out which one to catch. Maybe not the wisest choice with all the ice on the ground. On arriving in the park we noticed what appeared to be a huge warehouse, but no shrine in sight. Then a huge mural, of a shrine, revealed itself on the front wall of the warehouse. This barn was surreal. We sensed some confusion amongst the local Japanese tourists in the car park.

The mural was the clue as to what the warehouse contained.