Just outside of Yamanaka Onsen lies the tourist area known as Oku-Yamanaka. Here, you can see beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring at Wagatani and Kutani Dams, you can get a taste of history through looking at the remains of kilns used to make Kokutani Pottery, and you can go through Kenmin-no-Mori Park to bask in the Oku-Yamanaka Skyline which extends to Tsuru-ga-Taki Falls. Come to Oku-Yamanaka and enjoy the cherry blossoms in the spring, the green flora of the summer, and the colorful foliage of the autumn.

This temple is one of the two main temples of the Soto Sect of Zen Buddhism and is located in neighboring Fukui Prefecture.
Built in 1244, this spacious 330,000 m² Zen temple is quietly nestled in the mountains. More than 200 monks train here day and night, surrounded by majestic 700-year-old cedar trees.
You can take a bus directly from Yamanaka Onsen to Eiheiji Temple, where you can participate in Zen meditation and also copy Buddhist sutras through calligraphy.

This is a great place to go in the summer to enjoy white sandy beaches and the blue still waters of the Sea of Japan. You can get there from Yamanaka Onsen in 30 minutes by car.