Physically remote from the rest of Japan, the thatched villages of Shirakawa-go survived for many centuries from cultivating mulberry trees and spinning fine silk. Known as gassho-zukuri (‘Hands in Prayer’), their distinctive A-frame style of architecture and delightful situation, on terraced plateaux above the Shogawa River, has earned for the settlements coveted UNESCO World Heritage status.

One or two houses have been converted into beautiful little minshuku (B&Bs) where you can enjoy the region’s traditional chic from the inside.