Ian and I went through the gate and found that the path and stairs led to a really weather-beaten Shinto shrine.
The open grill work on the doors allowed us a good view inside the shrine, although there was not much to see. Shinto shrines usually have much less around or on the altar than a Buddhist temple. Of then the only thing in a shrine will be a mirror and it will be covered to protect the surface. They are not unknown but shrines usually do not hold statues and lots of rich furnishings.
Off to the side there was an alcove with cat statues but they were not part of the decorations on the altar.
We walked around the side of the shrine and found this strange little staircase. It appeared that the stairs were the ends of the timber that passed all the way though the building and on the inside formed stairs that went up to a closed room behind the altar that we could see through the door. To me, the interesting thing was that these outside stairs led to a narrow balcony behind which the board wall may have concealed what was once an alcove. Also the stairs and the balcony were too narrow to be of any regular use.
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