A fire broke out about 500 metres away from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed farmhouses of Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture on Monday 4th November.
Two huts burned down as fires easily spread across the thatched roofs. However, clever engineering prevented many more buildings from burning down.
The 114 gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old, were all safe thanks to the 59 autonomous water guns dotted around the UNESCO World Heritage area. Pretty neat!