winter in Shirakawa , Japan.
Heavy snow has created a winter paradise in Shirakawa-go, Gifu province, where charming houses with sloping thatched roofs are shining brightly in a lighting event that is held every year. In a picturesque scene reminiscent of the Japanese folk legend, the on-site event recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site began on Sunday (22), and charmed visitors to the site. The structure of the traditional "gassho-zukuri" houses allows them to withstand the heaviest blizzards, as well as offer spacious attics for the creation of silkworms, a local industry.