We used a simpler form of kiseru when I was an exchange student in Osaka.

Every time someone in our program arrived or departed, we would all go out to KIX, and at 1,400 yen each way from Osaka Station, that got real expensive, real fast. We quickly figured out a money-saving scam:

(1) Buy the cheapest JR ticket available from your departure point (or a platform ticket). Use that to go through the gate.

(2) When you arrive at KIX, tell the station attendant "I lost my ticket." He'll ask where you're coming from, and you choose a nearby station, e.g. Rinku Town.

(3) Throw away your ticket.

Although you have to buy two tickets this way, the total cost comes down to within 500 yen. We used child-fare platform tickets because we had no scruples whatsoever; that brought the total price to something like 350. Obviously this only makes sense for long rides on a non-reserved train.

It was almost foolproof. One of my friends extended this scam to a more extreme level--he lived at an unmanned station, so he would simply buy a child-fare platform ticket every time he wanted to go home, and then jump over the gate at his home station. This worked well for a while, until he lost his wallet which had all the platform tickets in it, and had to explain what had happened to the station master who found it...

At least you know it was stealing. Some people seem to miss the distinction.

The next time you're at Tokyu Hands shopping, here's a hint on how to get a discount off the marked price: put some of the items in your pocket and walk out without paying for them.

Lest anyone get the wrong impression, this was back when I was a broke and stupid teenager in a new country with no perception of rules. Nowadays I might actually be overspending on trains, as I use a JAL Suica credit card for commuting instead of buying a commuter pass. (I'm pretty sure that the cost is a wash most of the time, though; a commuter pass generally works out the same as nine one-way trips per week.)

I have noticed more balls-to-the-wall train scamming around me in the last few months; here and there I spot people hopping gates or running through before they close. Times are tough, I guess.

I do think the train scamming is unfortunately common. A couple of years ago I had two pieces of rolling luggage and the entrance gate closed on me before I could get everything through, or so I thought. What had actually happened was the gate hadn't scanned my Suica properly. So, when I tried to exit at my destination, the gate wouldn't let me through. Going to the window, the attendant saw that my card showed no originating station, so he asked "Which Station?" When I told him my actual station, he seemed almost surprised that it didn't happen to be the next one down the line.