CONTRIBUTED BY KELLYERACE
About a week ago a friend came over to my house telling me that she’d just gotten done eating pancakes at a new pancake house in Yomitan. A new pancake house? Here? In my neighborhood? I hardly dared to believe such good fortune. “Like real pancakes or teeny tiny fake ones?” I asked her. “Real pancakes” she assured me, “with sausages and a fried egg.” Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. I was practically hyperventilating. “And syrup?” I pressed. “Yes,” she said, “with syrup and a lot of butter.” She then swore me to secrecy and told me I wasn’t allowed to write about it for the blog.
So, I took a friend to try out Pancake House Jakkepoes for the first time last Friday. Today, Wednesday, marks my third visit. I’ve gone there, umm… every other day. This afternoon when I walked sheepishly through the door once again the owners greeted me with a warm, “Hi Kelly.” And doggone it if this is the one business on Okinawa that doesn’t have a stamp card. I can’t hold that against them though; they’ve only been open a few weeks now and they’re doing a fantastic job.
Jakkepoes, Dutch for I have no idea what, is in a little house on a side street off Route 6 near Torii Station. From the looks of it, it the building was former military housing. But everything about it is fresh and comfortable and new looking: white-washed walls, wooden floors, a nice breeze coming through the open doors and windows. And it’s just a hop skip and a jump away from a quaint little beach. (Walk a few steps to where the road becomes dirt. It’s on your left.) The dining room is small and intimate, with just a few tables – maybe five. But of course, a pretty restaurant ain’t nothin’ without good food and great people. And Jakkepoes has both. Aki and Sachiko are hospitable and friendly and their English is wonderful.
On to the food. Being that this is a pancake house review, it might be worth mentioning that I am a syrup lover. When I arrived at the threshold of Jakkepoes the first time, I had the sudden panicky thought that there might not be enough of it. What if the pancakes were as good as promised but touched by just a skimpy drizzle of syrup? I couldn’t bear the idea, but I knew that had to be. The promise of pancake heaven in my own backyard was too good to be true. But just as I settled in to face the disappointing syrup-lite reality, I looked across the room to the counter and spotted a bunch of those glass decanters of like they have at Denny’s. SYRUP decanters which would later be deposited on our table to use as needed. No restrictions! You don’t even get that at brunch on base. The world is good.
The English menu has pictures of the pancake offerings on both sides of it. They’ve got everything from berry pancakes to meatball pancakes. So far I’ve had the banana pancakes and the “grand slam” style breakfast: three pancakes with a fried egg and your choice of bacon, sausage, or spam. I had the sausage and it was yummy. Friends have ordered french toast (a little different version from American french toast, but good) the strawberry pancakes, the berry pancakes, the meat lover pancake combo. I haven’t tried the meatball or the chili/sausage pancakes yet, but I saw the chili ones on another diner’s plate today (that's him in the picture above) and, I must say, they looked surprisingly appetizing. I might even try them next time I go…Friday perhaps?
I admit it’s very tempting to keep the pancake house a secret. And I feel a little guilty divulging it (although I was given permission in the end) But I divulge it for selfish reasons - it’s a new restaurant and I sure as hell want to see it succeed. So there you go. And here you go with restaurant details.
Hours:
Open daily except Tuesday/Wednesday.
Weekdays 11:00-1800.
Weekends and American National Holidays: 8:00 to 17:00
Phone: 098-894-4185
Directions:
There are several ways to get to Jakkepoes, I've updated my previous directions w/ these from "Tom" who commented below. They are nice and straightforward. Thanks Tom!: Heading north on Route 6, proceed past the main gate for Torii. Turn left at the 4th traffic light past the gate. Proceed to the first stop sign (perhaps 300 meters), and turn right. Straight ahead for approx 300 meters, you'll see the quilt shop (Matsurika) on the left (and on the right side of the road, a small sign, low-to-the-ground, with white letters on a dark brown background, pointing across the street and down the road. Turn left here. Straight ahead about 200 meters, is Jakkepoes! So...left, right, and then left again. Simple!
*Jakkepoes has a couple of high chairs.
Kelly! I’m salivating over here! Cannot wait to try this place out. I’m so glad you ended up getting permission from your buddy to post this. Apologies and many thanks for sharing, Kelly’s friend.
And of course, endless thanks in advance to Kelly for what I’m sure will turn out to be a great meal.
So Kelly – do you need a foot rub? Or a big bunch of flowers? I can’t even tell you how excited I am. My husband is definitely in the “have some pancakes with your syrup” school (as is my daughter) and this is a WELCOME addition to our skimpy breakfast-joint repertoire. Love this – and I’m confident we can help Jakkepoes to succeed! And by “we” I mean the Bowman family. Alone.
Be still my beating, pregnant heart!!!! Thank you so much Kelly!!!! I know where we’re headed this weekend and I’m sure we’ll see some of you there!!!:)
We went today for lunch.
My son thought it was super fun to get pancakes for lunch. 
We did miss a couple of the signs. The signs are small and low to the ground. It is a really nice and cozy place. The two ladies were really sweet and friendly. It is pretty small, so if we ever go on the weekend I think we will plan to go early. There are two high chairs, but as previously said there is no strap. I used my son’s coat to tie my daughter in. 
Worked just fine.
Thank you Kelly for posting this!
Lucky me…..we decided to move off post and my new house is 5 blocks from the pancakes!!!!
Who would’ve known?
Does anybody live in the bright blue or green house?
Daniela
Heya Kelly. Thanks for the report. I know, those signs are not too easy to see. Glad you could find it though and your son could learn the important lesson that pancakes are good any time of day!
Daniela – welcome to the ‘hood! Do you live near the port by any chance? If so, and you like seafood, try some of the cheap cheap and scrumptious tempura they have a the fish shop down there. It’s made to order. Yum.
Yes,
our house is right there. I am dying to know who my neighbors will be!
I hope they are as adventures as we are. Now I will finally be able to enjoy the total “island experience”.
I am very excited about moving and will post here about our official “move in BBQ”. Just show up and surprise me! My dh does an awesome job in cooking meat and like my shrooms and tomatoes with plenty of cheese.
This is so much fun!
Daniela
So I’m dying to know how packed the joint was this morning (Sunday) with OkiHai pancake fanatics.
So…much props to the readers of OkiHai. I went to the pancake house this weekend (again) and it was PACKED! (Okay…so there are only 4 tables in the joint, so that’s not too difficult. Still though, one family had just left when we got there and later another group had to wait a little bit when we were sitting down.) I asked Sachiko and Aki how they were doing and if they’d been busy and they said since Okinawa Hai article, yes! And they were VERY grateful for y’alls business. So, good work you guys. Looks like your hunger for pancakes is helping one small business out!
That said, what with the influx of pancake afficionados I think they are still working their rhthym out. So, you might have to wait for your food a little longer than you’d like while they adjust to that! I think you’ll find it worth it though.
Today I was reminded about the power of pancakes. My two year old daughter is many things- sweet, feisty, smart, exasperating- you know, two. One thing she is not,usually, is a fun, carefree dining companion. Until today. Today she waited patiently for over an hour for her pancakes. Pancakes with m and ms. They must have been pancakes with m and ms and a side helping of manners. I can not tell you how many times I have been thanked for “a love-a-lee breakfast”, and told that “this was a fun, fun, special thing to do.” AAahhh. The power of pancakes. Crappy for the waistline but good for the spirit- A trade I’d make any day of the week.
And for those who don’t have 2 year olds, the banana pancakes were a hit with my 7 year old. You could easily split them between a kid or two. I opted for the french toast. Also yummy.
Thank you, Kelly. Thank you for a “love-a-lee” find.
Hey there! YAY! This place ROCKS!! My 2 year old also loved the M&M pancakes!!!
One thing with the directions though, it’s a right after getting on the back roads, not a left. Just don’t want people to miss out getting there!
Thanks again for the info! I’ve passed word to all my friends about it!
Hey MilMom! Glad to hear you are diggin’ the pancakes! As for the directions…it depends on how far down Rte. 6 you go. I think you probably took that initial left a little earlier than the K-Box/ Tomaya Port turnoff in the directions. Actually though your way is a little faster (I just didn’t give the directions for that way ’cause I was worried it would be an easy turn to miss. But now they’ve put up a “pancake house” sign so it’s not so bad!) Anyway, thank you, thank you for the feedback. So happy Jakkepoes is a hit with you!
To get to pancakes this way: follow the same directions above, but make your first left (off 6) at the light that has a tiny police station on the right side of the road and a tiny “pancake house” sign on the left. Go down to the first street with a stop sign and turn right there (there’s a “pancake house” sign w/ arrow there too). Follow it down to the quilt store and turn left there. You’ve reached pancake paradise!
I’ve been wanting to go to Jakkepoes since first reading this post and yesterday was my lucky day. We went Sunday afternoon and were able to get the last open table. As soon as we got in they changed the open sign to close, which I thought was a little weird since it was only 2:30pm and their hours state they do not close until 6:00pm. Again, my lucky day. We each ordered something different (M&Ms and Chocolate Lover’s for the little ones, Banana Pancakes and Grand Slam for the big ones). Everybody loved what they got! The two ladies working there are probably the nicest people we’ve met on the island. Fabulous restaurant all around. Thank you for posting this info about Jakkepoes, I know I would have never found it without this information and I would have missed out on these yummy pancakes.
Marisa,
You were very lucky, apparently Jakkepoes has been overwhelmed with business since debuting on Okinawahai that they actually RAN OUT OF MILK, EGGS AND PANCAKE MIX!!! So they closed down and reopened at 3:00.
GO Okihai for making a local business so popular and successful!!
I finally made it to Jakkepos this week and boy, was I NOT disappointed! I wanted to try the pancakes plain so as not to be influenced by the decadence of chocolate and other toppings and they were perfect gems of happiness in my mouth and tummy. The accompanying American-style sausage was good, too. And you couldn’t beat the environment. The owner ladies were so warm and inviting. My friend and I almost walked out w/o paying b/c we had forgotten for a second that we were there as customers in a restaurant! I went back w/my family and everyone enjoyed what they had. Of course, the m and m pancakes were a hit w/the kiddos and my husband enjoyed the chili pancake dish saying that “it was surprisingly good!” Thanks to everyone for the explicit directions and for Kelly for posting!
I just wanted to let everybody know on a change of opening hours.
On my run this morning I ran by the restaurant and noticed a sign in the window.
They will now be open at 9:00 a.m. even on weekdays and closed every Tuesday and Wednesday. This will start on 04/28
Daniela
Daniela, a belated thank you for passing along the new schedule. I’ve updated the information in the original post. I’m selfishly bummed that they are closed an additional day, but like the new early hours too. By the by, in case folks haven’t visited in awhile they’ve added a new member to their staff, so the pancakes are getting to the table much more quickly. Yeah!
A friend and I went and LOVED the pancakes. I want to eat there every day!!! FYI, the quilt shop’s name is Matsurika and if you’re not looking, it’s easy to miss. Man, I’m craving the pancakes now!!!
Embarrassed to say that it took us over 4 months to make it there but THRILLED to have finally gone! Loved it all! Such a cute/clean/fun place. My kids were thrilled. OH, and they’ve added belts to the high chair — how sweet is that!!
Haven’t tried this place out yet b/c when I went by today and found it, it was packed, but it is very quaint and cozy and I CANNOT wait to try this place out. I might try and go tommorrow! Yippee!
So, I was talking with Aki the other day and she said that the woman who owns the quilting shop at the end of the street is famous and won a prize for being the number one quilter in Japan or something like that. I said, “number one in Okinawa?” and she said, “no, number one in Japan”. So, for those of you who like to quilt, thought you might find that interesting.
This place is amazing:)
Thank you so much for sharing with all of us, we will definitely be back many many many more times in our 3 1/2yrs. left here!!
My friend and I finally make it to the pancake house and I was worried I’d be disappointed since it had been built up so big. I wasn’t. I ordered the banana pancake and strawberry yogurt. My friend ordered the berry pancakes. There were 3 perfect round and fluffy pancakes with sliced bananas on them, then drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with roasted peanuts. The bananas were perfectly ripe and sweet and were warm from the hot pancakes. It was heavenly. The yogurt was good, too. It was the natural almost bitter kind but I like it when yogurt is just barely sweet. The place is adorable and so are the two cute ladies that run it. We were surprised to be the only ones there so you guys need to all go back and give them more business! I would be devastated if that place went out of business! I will be going back with my kids for the M&M pancakes and also will take my hubby some day.
This place is great! Have been eating there nearly every other weekend for the last four or five months. Best pancakes ever (and honestly, I’m not a pancake fan – except for these).
Instructions on how to get there:
Heading north on Route 6, proceed past the main gate for Torii. Turn left at the 4th traffic light past the gate.
Proceed to the first stop sign (perhaps 300 meters), and turn right.
Straight ahead for approx 300 meters, you’ll see the quilt shop on the left (and on the right side of the road, a small sign, low-to-the-ground, with white letters on a dark brown background, pointing across the street and down the road. Turn left here.
Straight ahead about 200 meters, is Jakkepoes!
So…left, right, and then left again. Simple!
You don’t know how thrilled I am to hear about this! I actually drove past this place months ago and I said, ‘I’ll have to come here someday’ because I’m a HUGE PANCAKE FAN!! I used to eat them almost every Sunday morning growing up at home. I can’t wait to go!
For anyone who goes to the Pancake House Jakkepoes, it doesn’t open till 11am on weekdays. We found this out when we tried to go last Friday (96 for Lester Hospital folks), huge buzz kill.
For anyone who goes to the Pancake House Jakkepoes, it doesn’t open till 11am on weekdays. We found this out when we tried to go last Friday (96 for Lester Hospital folks), huge buzz kill.
Awesome place. I went there too and I love there pankcakes!
Thanks for letting us know about the hours change Theresa. I’ve put the new hours in the post. Sorry about the buzz kill! I hope you were able to find something else delicious. (Although, the pancakes are hard to beat, I admit!)
Thanks, Kelly. We went back to the pancake house this weekend. In addition to the Pancakes, my husband loves the “FU-rench” toast. Or maybe he just like pronouncing it with their mispell. The sausage is really good as is the mango juice. It’s still our favorite nearby breakfast place for the weekends. We tried Rose Garden (on 330) on Sunday, very good French Toast, actually.
Sounds delicious, cant wait to try it out, but as I was reading this, and some of the other shopping/economy related posts I couldn’t help but wonder;
How do you pay for goods off base?
It’s such a simple question, and I almost feel embarrassed to ask it, because the obvious answer is, “With money, duh”.
But how? Is it cash(Yen) only? Credit Cards? Debit cards from a local Oki Bank? Do you have to have an Oki Bank? Do regular credit cards work on base? Off base? How do you get yen? Are there decent exchange rates? Is it really THAT much more expensive over there? *Ahh!* I’ve opened up my Pandora’s box of questions!
I’ll be there by this time next week, I suppose I will be getting a crash course in it when I step off the plane and get a craving for reese’s cups.
Its kind of odd, but a lot of restaurants don’t take credit cards off-base, so your best bet is to carry Yen.
You can exchange Yen on-base, but you can sometimes get a better rate off-base. If I carry cash, its usually only Yen. Almost every place on base takes credit/debit card, I can’t think of any place that doesn’t. Welcome to Oki, you’ll love it.
If it makes a difference to anyone, they now have lovely little belts as straps for the three highchairs. My son and I had the banana pancakes (minus the chocolate and nuts to make them more baby friendly) and they were amazing. Tom’s directions are perfect.
How did that pancakehouse get that name? Jakkepoes is the name of a cat in a famous Dutch children’s book “Minoes” by Annie MG Schmidt. Also made it to the screen:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279231/
I know your post/question is quite old but I’ll reply to it anyway. I’ve noticed that the owner LOVES cats. She has many blogs and pictures about her feline pets so I’m not suprised if the store was named after one.
FYI…Our favorite Pancake house is closed for New Years until 03 January 09. Happy New Year!
Had the meatball pancake…Who would have thought it would be such a delicious combo!
Here’s thier website: http://www.jakkepoes.com/eng/index.html
I enjoy looking at their blog, its quite fun!
This restaurant was highlited on the Japan TV (channel OTV) show Win!Win! on APril 24, 2010.
They showed the many Americans that eat there and said it was very popular with Americans. The pancake mix is buttermilk which is not the typical Japanese style mix.
TOP 3 MENU ITEMS (customer favorites from the TV show)
3) Strawberry Pancakes (700yen) thick strawberry sauce and whip cream on top
2) Meat Lover (900yen) pancakes, fried egg, 3 types of pork
1) Berry Pancake (750yen) strawberry and blueberry mix sauce with chocolate sauce
Do they take American dollars?
Hi Heather,
They do take American dollars.
Check out their Facebook page. Aki is very active on it and will answer any questions quickly.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jakkepoes-Pancake-House-Okinawa/243434032815?ref=ts
We live on Foster, it was a little tricky finding the place, parking SUCKS, my husband backed into a cement wall (way to start the day), however, the food was decent but there’s VERY limited seating (about 6 tables). I wouldn’t make the trip again, my pancakes are just as good, probably better! Nothing special on the menu. If you happen to be in the area I would say try it but I wouldn’t make the trip again.
My wife and I come here quite often becuase their pancakes are SOOO delicious! The ONLY thing I would like to see is more of a variety, but this place(by far) is the best you’re going to get as far as breakfast here on Okinawa. The parking isn’t THAT bad-if you were able to acquire a driver’s license, you should be able to park just fine. The place is clean, the servers are very warm and friendly and did I mention the pancakes are DELICIOUS?
went this weekend with the family it was amazing!!! Much better than any stateside IHOP!