Image 1 of 8 A house with a steeply pitched thatched roof is illuminated in the UNESCO World Heritage Shirakawa-go settlement in the Gifu Prefecture village of Shirakawa on Jan. 13, 2025. (Mainichi/Kazuki Yamazaki)A house with a steeply pitched thatched roof is illuminated in the UNESCO World Heritage Shirakawa-go settlement in the Gifu Prefecture village of Shirakawa on Jan. 13, 2025. (Mainichi/Kazuki Yamazaki)