[dirtyroboto]

hehe! I must try あかすり Thanks for telling me about that.

I don't think I have been gaijin'd by Japanese yet! I get some looks and the like but nothing I wouldn't get back in London.
I look at them too and they often look back.
In the onsen I feel quite normal and relaxed, my nihongo is not great but a few words help alot, mainly to put the locals at ease. Many young guys like the fashion of using the towel over their bits but my towel stays on my head (not that one silly).

The last onsen I was in, the cleaning staff (female) came into the mens changing area for a scrub. Neither they nor us batted an eyelid or hid behind a towel.