Nakayama was born in Fujieda on September 23, 1967. After graduating from University of Tsukuba, he joined Japan Soccer League club Yamaha Motors (later "Júbilo Iwata") in 1990. In 1992, Japan Soccer League was folded and the club joined new league, Japan Football League. In 1993, the club won the 2nd place and was promoted to J1 League from 1994. The club won the J1 League champions in 1997, 1999 and 2002. In 1998, he scored 36 goals in 27 matches and became a top scorer. He was also selected MVP award. He also became a top scorer in 2000. This was golden era in the club history and he was one of the central player in golden era. From later 2000s, his opportunity to play decreased. In 2010, he moved to J2 League club Consadole Sapporo at the age of 43. Although the club was promoted to J1 in 2012, he could not play many matches in 3 seasons and retired end of 2012 season. In 2015, he came back as player at Japan Football League club Azul Claro Numazu. The club was promoted to J3 League in 2017. He retired end of 2020 season again without playing in the match at the club.