If only 1% give money to homeless people, that’s… a good place to beg for money. I would probably make more there than what i make at my fancy software engineering job (100K before taxes per year):

- 36000 people

- let’s say each give 10 cents ($)

- that’s $3600 per day

- if you beg 8h per day, that’s $1200/day

- begging mon to fri means $24000 per month (tax free)

With 28800s in 8 hours that's more than 1 donation per second during these 8 hours. Also you now have 36000 10ct coins, that's more than 100kg in coins to move every day

This assumes there is a central entrance you can situate yourself as a beggar.

In reality there are probably 10+ entrances.

> begging mon to fri means $24000 per month (tax free)

Keep in mind that you'd have $24k in low value coins at that point :) You'll need a warehouse like Scrooge McDuck and a wheelbarrow if you wanna go shopping.

Of course you can change it into paper money or even a bank balance but you'll quickly reach the point where that can no longer be legally done tax free.

Even the income in one day would be 36000 coins in your scenario. Not sure how much that would be in Yens but 36000 US dimes would weigh 225kg or about 500 lbs :)

Ps I wonder if begging is even a thing there. They seem super strict on social etiquette and unwritten rules and I doubt being a vagrant with a cardboard sign asking for money would pass the mould.

It's also a big reason why I've never been there, I don't fare well in strict societies and communities. Formal stuff makes me anxious.

Edit: ah I see the rest of the thread answered my question (begging is illegal) and also raised the same point about the coins sorry.

very unrealistic because many train riders don't carry coins, nor will use a contactless payment to pay a random begger, even if they see them on the platform every day.

Begging is illegal in Japan.

This is hilarious, thank you