KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 04:00 | Lifestyle, JapanA fire gutted two thatched-roof huts near a World Heritage site in central Japan on Monday, causing a scare for locals and tourists less than a week after a blaze destroyed a historical castle in Okinawa.
Holiday tourists visiting the attraction were in the area and observed the fire from a parking lot near the huts, the cashier said.
The parking lot is around 400 meters away from the center of the historical site.
Following the castle fire in Okinawa, the village in Gifu Prefecture had called on local residents at the World Heritage site and surrounding areas to be alert for fire.
The Shirakawa-go area with its traditional wooden houses, some of which date back to around 1800, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in December 1995.