Once you’ve seen a photo of Shirakawa-go, it’s hard to forget it. The village in a river valley, part of a wider UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gifu prefecture, looks like a fairy tale land in summer and is downright otherworldly in winter, thanks to a thick blanket of snow and its historic gassho-style houses.
You’ll want to see it at night, when lights from homes and streets cast a warm glow.
