Japan trip

Hello! I'll be doing my thesis in Osaka for 6 months! I've already been to Tokyo (and day trips) and will obviously be visiting Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima (and respective day or weekend trips).

I would like to know where else you would go, excluding Okinawa, Hokkaido and Kyushu! Which are the must see places and why?

In case it helps, I'm not much of a museum fan, but I enjoy science or out of the ordinary museums (like the museum in Kyoto where you can experience how they used to live or the trick art museum in Tokyo). Not into art or pure history at all.
I like to go to parks, gardens, lakes... anything with nature, but I also enjoy more city like places like Akihabara. Also like food a lot =P Anime fan!

Are you going to be eligible for a rail pass by having temporary visitor in your passport? If you're not, I think the first question that needs answering is your budget, since you will either be spending money on long distance buses or quite a bit of money on train fare. I know some of my friends who have lived in Japan and were ineligible for rail passes, have used discount airlines to travel around as it was actually cheaper than taking a bus or train to get many places... However, if money is no object, there are lots of neat places to visit in the Kansai and Chugoku area.

Good luck!

Pretty vague question. For where to visit is really up to you. Your like and dislikes are completely different than others. I would browse this whole website and start reading. Plenty of places to see and do.

Since you like parks and nature, I would say you must take a day trip to Nara.