That is not true. They do it at home too (I have lived with my in-laws in a while), even when they cook it themselves. So it's definitely not to show appreciation. They slurp any liquid that it hot because it is hot. I noticed that the Japanese have an amazing ability to eat or drink anything at a much hotter temperature than I could ever do. For them I am "nekojita" (lit. "cat's tongue", which means having a tongue sensitive to heat).
I noticed that quite a few other Europeans I know were also said to be "nekojita" in Japan. I guess that is because the Japanese have developed a skill to absorb air while drinking their hot tea or ramen soup, so that the coolig process takes place inside the mouth. I prefer to hold my noodles above the bowl for a few seconds and even blow some air on it until it has cooled down a bit. Japanese people rarely do that.
I am not sure they should be proud of this ability to eat/drink too hot; after all the Japanese have a much higher rate of oesophagus and stomach cancer than Westerners, and this is probably the main cause.
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