A mountain mystery

The weather was truly glorious today, a change from a week or so of rain and generally miserable weather we had last week.  Having access to a car I took full advantage of exploring the mountains.

There is a great little road that leads out of the back of Mushigame, passing many mud ponds on route, and with wonderful panoramic views before winding down into the village of Yamogihira.  The road only re-opened last year following repair to damage caused by the 2003 earthquake.  The road actually comes out at the NND mud ponds where we saw Koi being released a couple of weeks back - http://www.niigata-nishikigoi.com/node/772.  Indeed when we were at those mud ponds Oomo san asked me if I'd visited the area before, I explained that many times I'd driven this road to Mushigame, a route he didn't know existed.

As I made my way today I noticed these new signs by the roadside, as I travelled from right to left in the picture below, and then the construction above it.

I doubled back to take a closer look.  I can only read a little of the sign, the text at the top of the brown wood says Yamogihira, on the black sign it says Niigata in hiragana.

The last 4 characters on the top line of the sign below say 'yokoso', welcome in Japanese, anyone that's passed through Narita airport can't help but have noticed many signs saying 'Yokoso Japan'.

And this is the constuction at the top of the slope.

What it is and why someone has built it there at present I have no idea.......