If you walk up to a dog that has never seen you before and look it straight in the eyes while holding your hand above its head to pat it, there is a decent chance the dog will bite you. All animals find staring to be an act of aggression and challenge. It makes them angry. Humans, being animals, are no different. One of the consequences of being stared at all the time is that you become increasingly defensive (or outright hostile) after repeated exposure to this sort of behavior. And one of the consequences of living in Japan as a foreigner is that you get stared at a lot.
I won't miss getting my hackles up after an outing where I'm subjected to more slack-jawed gawking than usual (and the "usual" is pretty high).
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