Okadas on the Suginamiki Road

37 km long and lined with 13,000 giant cedars, this road is in the Guiness Book of Records as the longest tree lined avenue in the world. Not all the trees are as large as this one but all are impressive and the majority are over 300 years old. We were heading to the Nikko National Park where ancient Buddhist and Shinto shrines awaited in a beautiful upland volcanic landscape. It was overcast and misty at times but that just added to the atmosphere. Our hotel was at the highest point in the road that wasn't closed by snow. It came as a bit of a surprise to see piles of the white stuff piled at the sides of the road but it would have been lovely to have been siting in our outdoor Onsen as the snow fell - we had to settle for a few gentle drops of rain.