Okuyama Things to Do

Okuhamanako is the unofficial way to describe mountainous area encompassing former Inasa, Mikkabi, and Kiga towns now amalgamated into "Kita-ku" of the Greater Hamamatsu. Personally I prefer to call this region Okuhamanako rather than using official, boring, dumb, mundane, and misleading nameplace the municipal government of Hamamatsu gave to this place.

Okuhamanako literaly means the region northside of Lake Hamana located northwest of JR Hamamatsu station. This area has a lot of tourist attractions including Koto Gozan, Five Major Temples located north of Lake Hamana, hiking destinations such as Mt. Mitake, Mt. Tonmaku and Kosai(Yumibari) Mountains west of Lake Hamana, historical sites along Himekaido, a substitute highway for Tokaido Highway during Edo Period. Although the region may not have the glory enjoyed durung 70s or 80s when the region used to have been the popular driving destinations right after the completion of Tomei Expressway in 1969, the area still attracts lots of tourists not only from Japan but from overseas.