Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are fascinating and unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan. Located in a small and isolated mountain valley, these small villages are unique in Japan thanks to their gassho, or "prayer-hands" style roof construction. This unusual design allowed for strength against the wind, management of heavy winter snowfall, and maximised the amount of housing space available on the small local plots of land. It's a beautiful spot, so let's go exploring!

For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNi67oWNK0QXXr6vJIj7-k3C

For more historic village World Heritage sites:
Historic Villages of Korea, Hahoe and Yangdong: youtu.be/e6BRBAWaWQM
Ancient Villages of Southern Anhui Province: youtu.be/JY6UL0oJnFg
Holasovice Historic Village: youtu.be/ftJaIMyrPzo

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Music: Bensound.com - Happiness
Map Image (C) OpenStreetMap.org Contributors, openstreetmap.org/copyright
Shirakawa-go at Night, By Yoshiyuki Ito - Imported from 500px (archived version) by the Archive Team. (detail page), CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71468422
Shirakawa-go in the snow, By Takashi Hososhima from Tokyo, Japan - Shirakawago village and snowy mountain, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40586636
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