Bad Japanese manners / Where are the polite Japanese ?

[DoctorP]

Speaking of the eating/drinking of hot items. Many Japanese tend to believe that one problem with Westerners (mainly US) is that we drink too many cold liquids. They say that it isn't healthy to always drink ice laden drinks. (Of course the Japanese love ice cold beer!) But if you notice, they usually drink coffee or warm/hot tea.

They say these warm liquids help in the natural movement of energy in the human body.

My wife loves her soup extremely hot...so hot that I usually have to wait 10-15 minutes for it to cool enough to eat it. She thinks this is strange, but I too think she is strange, so it evens out!

[pbjsandwich]

Bicycle and umbrella thefts are rampant in Japan...

Wtf...? Umbrella thieves? Umbrellas cost like, what? Ten bucks?

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.

I stand by my arguement. I was told that it was traditional manners. And maybe the reason why people do it even if they cook the food themselves is probably because that tradition turned into a habit that everyone is taught to pick up.

[Maciamo]

Wtf...? Umbrella thieves? Umbrellas cost like, what? Ten bucks?

Anything from 100 yen to 50,000 yen. As you know Japanese people are addicted to brands, and I know quite a few people who had pretty expensive umbrellas (some more expensive than a mountain bike).

[DoctorP]

I stand by my arguement. I was told that it was traditional manners. And maybe the reason why people do it even if they cook the food themselves is probably because that tradition turned into a habit that everyone is taught to pick up.

Actually Maciamo is correct. The primary reason for slurping is to cool the food.