Umikaji Terrace Island Po-Po
👋 Haisai! This is CULT.
Today… I’m re-uploading this post because my original post on Island Po-Po (ISLAND PO-PO-) got deleted. There are several restaurants at Umikaji Terrace, but since there are more places for a proper meal around Kokusai Street, today I’ll introduce a café where you can enjoy dessert. The frappes are so pretty they’ll brighten up your Instagram feed with color. It’s also easy to find on the first floor, so I recommend stopping by 😀
📌 Island Po-Po: Location and Appearance
Details
Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
The shop is located right in the middle of Umikaji Terrace. There’s parking all around, but if you go late in the afternoon you’ll have to park a bit farther away. Trying to park right by the beach in the first place will only wear you out… so it’s easier if you plan on parking a little way off.
It’s open year-round, and ⏰ the hours are 11 AM to 9 PM every day. [Google Map]
It’s located at Umikaji Terrace. The place you see in the photo is Umikaji Terrace. The right-hand side of the first floor is Island Po-Po. It has a slightly southern European vibe, and I like this somewhat worn look. Also, I like that there are fewer of those typically Japanese messy touches—advertising and transformers hung everywhere for illumination events—so it feels nicer.
This is a great place to come to see the sea, or simply to relax. It’s pretty and also good for taking selfies. I actually do snap photography here, too.
These are the prices for the parfait and roll menus. This place is a bit on the pricey side — it’s a popular tourist spot, so there’s not much you can do about it. All frappes are the same price, 1,000 yen, and differ in their internal toppings and fruit. You can choose the toppings you prefer. The Popo Roll is the same price at 700 yen, and, again, pick the inside toppings to suit your taste.
The staff at Island Po-Po are very kind. Ordering in English is no problem. Because my conversational Japanese when I took this photo was quite different from what it is now, I mixed English and Japanese when ordering, and when they heard that they laughed quite a bit. If I go again now, I think I’d be able to order more comfortably.
Also, cash (💴) is accepted and cards (💳) are accepted too.
🍧 Parfait and Roll
This is the parfait I ordered. I split the focus when I shot it — I really shouldn’t have; they end up looking like two identical photos, don’t they?
This shows the roll being photographed.
As you can see in the photo, it’s a mango parfait: mango on top, ice cream in the center, and cornflakes lining the bottom. There’s no way this could taste bad. The cornflakes were probably not really cornflakes — they didn’t have that characteristic salty-sweet flavor.
This really gives off that Okinawa vibe. The snack has “Seokgamdang (石敢當)” written on it — it’s called “Ishiganto” and is a talisman word mainly used in the southern region of Okinawa. It’s the kind of talisman that keeps negative energy or evil spirits away.
When I wrote a post three months ago I didn’t know this, but over the past three months I’ve really studied Okinawa a lot (ahem)
Please also enjoy the talisman cookie that wards off bad energy. This is a taste that couldn’t possibly be bad. How could it be bad when ice cream is mixed into mango?
Scoop it well and help yourself.
I want to go again soon and write a post, but for now my immediate goal is to visit every shop in Umikaji Terrace at least once. Once the requests are done, I’ll let you know about other menu items.
Next is the green tea roll. It’s filled with green tea cream and sweet red bean paste. Because it’s rolled up in a pancake, it’s convenient to pick up and eat with your hands.
I enjoyed this one, too, but… if I were having it as a dessert and wasn’t very hungry, I think I’d probably only have the parfait.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t tasty — I’m just too full.
🫠 Wrapping up…
Because of a certain incident, a lot of my posts were deleted, and I’m working hard to restore them.
I’m now working with some really good people, so I’ll be able to upload more often and have more fun doing it. Stay tuned.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more Okinawa travel information! Matayasai!
- Umikaji Terrace on Senaga Island is a place where parking is very difficult. The parking lot is almost always full, and you have to parallel park in front of the shops you see in the photos. If you’re good at parallel parking, you can usually find a spot by driving around the island once or twice when there aren’t any spaces, but if you’re not, it may take a bit longer.
- This is a great spot for watching the sea and also a nice place to relax. It's a place where you can comfortably spend time alone. It isn't right up to the attraction shown in the photo, but the city bus reaches to within a five-minute walk.
- There are two desserts—frappes and rolls—and the fruit and toppings inside each are different. You can order whichever flavor you prefer. Personally, I find the pineapple frappe’s vivid yellow tones really pretty, so it’s great for taking photos.
- I wouldn't really recommend it. There is shelter from the rain, but if it's raining enough to be a bother, the wind usually comes with it, so even if you sit on the outdoor terrace you'll end up getting wet. That said, in summer it's often just short, squally showers, so unless it's the rainy season or a typhoon you don't need to worry too much.
- The staff are very friendly. Their English isn't fluent, but it's good enough for ordering and paying.
