Village with Gassho-zukuri-concentrated areas are located in Shirakawago and Gokayama  spanning the prefectural boundary of Toyama from the northernmost of Gifu Prefecture.

It was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1995 as a rare architectural style remains in the world.

The main feature is a steep, thatched kirizuma yane (gable roof). It is said that various kinds of ingenuity are done in this unusual form of Japanese Architecture. For example, to make the angle of the roof steep, in order to make it easy to slide the accumulated snow. Also, most of the houses lined up so that the windows point toward the north and south are ideas of thinking about wind direction and sunlight.