Yamanaka Onsen山中温泉

A 1.3 km path past odd-shaped rocks, with three bridges. Kōrogi Bridge (こおろぎ橋) is all cypress; the fourth bridge on the site was finished on 12 October 2019. Ayatori-hashi (あやとりはし), at the midpoint, is a 94.7 m pedestrian bridge in an S-shape, designed by Teshigahara Hiroshi of the Sōgetsu ikebana school as if arranging the gorge as a flower display, and lit every night. Kurotani Bridge (黒谷橋) is a stone arch of 1935 at the lower end, on the old road to Komatsu and Natadera.

A riverside seat above the water, open 1 April to 30 November: 9:30–16:00 until 31 October, 10:00–15:00 in November (irregular closing days), closed December to March, and shut in rain or high water. A seat with Kaga bōcha roasted-stem tea is ¥700; with a sweet from a recipe by the Yamanaka-born chef Dōjō Rokusaburō it is ¥1,000.

The town sōyu stands on the site of the first bathhouse. Men and women bathe in separate buildings, which is rare in Japan: the men's has a deep, waist-high tub. Adults pay ¥500. Guests of ryokan in the Yamanaka association pay half; ask at the front desk. Beside the women's building, Yamanaka-za (8:30–22:00; to 20:00 in winter) has a tourist desk, coin lockers and, at weekends and on holidays, a geisha performance of Yamanaka-bushi.

The main street has no utility poles, and is lined with lacquer and Kutani galleries and cafés. Shops along it hold luggage and lend their toilets for free. On a slope above is Hasebe Shrine (長谷部神社), which honours the Kamakura-period warrior Hasebe Nobutsura, credited with reviving the spring after the town was ruined in war.

Yamanaka lacquerware has been made here since the Tenshō era (1573–92) and is known for its wood-turned bowls (rokuro). Yamanaka Urushi-za shows the techniques and exhibits the work on the ground floor, free: 10:00–16:00 on weekdays, 9:30–16:30 at weekends and holidays, closed Wednesday. At Urushi no Utsuwa Asada you can paint a maki-e design on a plate or chopsticks (¥2,750) or a bowl (¥3,850) in about 50 minutes. The wood-turning workshop at Rokuro no Sato was suspended in October 2026.

Matsuo Bashō stayed at the Izumiya inn in 1689, on the journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi, and parted from his companion Sora here: the Ashi-yu foot bath beside the Bashō drinking fountain recalls his verse Kyō yori ya kakitsuke kesan kasa no tsuyu. Bashō-dō (芭蕉堂), a small hall built in October 1910, stands on the gorge path. Bashō no Yakata (芭蕉の館) is a 1905 villa of the Ōgiya inn, next to the Izumiya, with a garden and Bashō relics beside Yamanaka lacquer: ¥350 from 1 April 2026, 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed Wednesday.