Even today the Japanese presence in Shanghai remains strong and families readily on various well-developed resources for education, entertainment, dining and shopping. The largest population of Japanese expats living in Shanghai is concentrated in Gubei, Hongqiao and Pudong. These enclaves have even sprouted entire apartment compounds. An example is Toho Kaen in Pudong. Established and run by large Japanese corporations, Toho Kaen features apartments with tatami-mat flooring and on-site supermarkets showcasing Japanese groceries as well as fresh fish flown in from Japan. Similar compounds also exist in Hongqiao.

There are multiple business and general interest Japanese language publications (all free), that can be picked up at Japanese supermarkets and Chinese businesses catering to Japanese expats. A few examples are: SuperCity Shanghai, Whenever Shanghai, Bros, Concierge, Shanghai Japion and JBridge. These publications also maintain websites enhancing the variety and timeliness of information available to the community.

In order to meet the educational needs of the children of Japanese expats in Shanghai, an official Shanghai Japanese School, administrated by the Japanese government, was established in 1976. What is now the largest Japanese ex-pat school in the world has grown to encompass two primary schools in Hongqiao and Pudong, with the Pudong camp including a junior high school. Japanese students can even participate in traditional cram school sessions by attending Sundai Yobiko, which now has a branch in Shanghai. Relenting to pressures to prepare for college entrance exams (and because there is no Japanese high school in Shanghai) most high school students return to Japan with their mothers to complete their education.

Pathhers who stay behind in Shanghai to continue working are called tanshin funin, or single posting, which is not an uncommon family

arrangement for Japanese employees. For the pre-school set, Shanghai boasts

numerous options for families. These include Sakura Yoochien, Oisuka Shanghai Japanese Kindergarten, Shanghai Futaba Kindergarten, Toshin International Preschool and Clover Kindergarten. Even non-Japanese speakers can sign for educational opportunities available to Japanese expats. Livingstone American School offers a Japanese Bilingual Kindergarten Division at their Changning campus and Utsukushigaoka Montessori Kindergarten in Minhang, a sister school of the original establishment in Yokohama, offers two international classes, in English and Chinese-plus-English.

There are numerous casual play-group type programs catering to infants and toddlers. Most will be difficult to navigate for the non-Japanese speaker, but here are some examples: storybook sessions featured at Shanghai Nijibunko, Mommy & Me gatherings for children ages 2-4 at Futaba and Clover kindergartens and Ko Ashi Ato Kid's Club, which is a play-group for children up to 3 years old.

Some Japanese establishments do reach out to non-Japanese speakers. The Yamaha Music School located in Gubei (2635 Yan'an Rd) and downtown on the 7th floor of the Jiuguang department store (6288 0085, ext. 1084) offers musical instruction in the Yamaha Music Education System. A typical class features introduction to instruments, music appreciation and movement. Class schedules differ between the two locations so it is best to check out both. Pigeon Land, located at 1078 Gubei Rd (near Huangjincheng Rd), is operated by a Japanese baby and maternity products company and features a playhouse, huge air mattress, indoor sand box and ball pit that can be used for as little as 30 minutes for RMB 40 or you can purchase a multiple-use 'Kid-o-Kid' pass for RMB 500 that is effective for one year. Pigeon Land also offers bilingual Japanese-Chinese classes.

Japanese expats can find familiar food items and address concerns about food safety by shopping at Japanese supermarkets such as Shinsenkan, Minoya and Freshness at multiple locations throughout the city. FreshMart, in the foundation of Jiuguang department store at the Jing'an Temple subway station, is the largest Japanese supermarket in Shanghai. On the same floor there is a branch of the Yamazaki Japanese bakery and several purveyors of Japanese sweet confections. Given the abundance of Japan to Shanghai, there are multiple daily direct flights from Hongqiao Airport to Tokyo's Haneda Airport, making it reliably easy to travel back and forth to Japan.

Many Japanese mothers return to Japan to give birth or to address medical issues. If there is a craving that can not be met locally this can be easily repaired during a trip home and by returning with a suitcase filled with favorite foods.

If you are looking at moving to Shanghai, you can check out all the latest Shanghai Jobs at the that's Shanghai website.