Japan¡¯s thatched roofed settlement Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture has received top scores for its charms in a new global ranking of 50 of the most beautiful villages in the world.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site ranked top in Asia and ninth worldwide in a recently released list compiled and curated by Unforgettable Travel Company and Forbes.

¡°Blanketed in alpine silence, Shirakawago emerges like a fairytale ¡ª its steep thatched roofs rising against forested slopes built to cradle heavy snow ... As dusk falls, lanterns flicker along quiet lanes, and the air thickens with woodsmoke. Exploring in winter? You¡¯ll catch illumination nights casting a golden glow on snow-laden eaves ¡ª like stars fallen gently to earth,¡± Forbes wrote in its description.

Other picturesque villages in Asia included lakeside Ban Rak Thai in Thailand, Hahoe Folk Village in South Korea and mountainous Ghandruk in Nepal.

European villages dominated the global rankings, with Bibury in England claiming the top spot, followed by Hallstatt in Austria and Reine in Norway.

Shirakawago is famed for its verdant landscape and ²µ²¹²õ²õ³ó¨­-³ú³Ü°ì³Ü°ù¾± farmhouses, which are hundreds of years old. Gassh¨­-zukuri, which means ¡°constructed like hands in prayer,¡± references the slanted roofs of the grand buildings, which are something of an emblem for the area.

Situated at the foot of the 2,702-meter Mount Haku, and 50 kilometers inland from the Sea of Japan, its iconic buildings were designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, possess distinctive thatched roofs, and were assembled using traditional Japanese craft techniques that forego nails in favor of interlocking beams.

¡°Because of the area¡¯s natural environment, with high mountains and heavy snowfall, interaction with neighboring regions was limited. However, this also created the conditions for the development of unique cultural practices and lifestyles,¡± the village¡¯s official website states.

With a dwindling population in rural areas, officials in Japan are increasingly seeking to entice tourists to remote areas in a bid to support the local economies. But Shirakawago ¡ª which has a population of around 1,500, many of them elderly, and sees millions of tourists annually ¡ª has also raised concerns about overtourism.

The village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture, one of the municipalities that host the settlement, has released an online guidebook listing manners tourists should keep in mind when visiting the district, including refraining from entering private properties when taking photos and smoking only at designated spots.