Shirakawa-go village in the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures is a world heritage-listed site famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri (lit. 'constructed like hands in prayer') thatch-roofed farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. This image is a close-up of one of the old storehouses under winter snow.