After a leisurely breakfast, a leisurely pack and a leisurely lunch, it was time for our first test...the shuttle bus from Tomamu resort to Tomamu Station. We had positioned ourselves in an ideal position for the shuttle bus but we needn't have worried. We were the only ones on it! And there we had our private transfer :)
Upon arrival at Tomamu Station, we were also the only ones at the Station. There was no one manning the station and we were told by the resort staff that ticket purchase would occur on the train itself. Enough skiers disembarked at Tomamu for all of us to get a seat on the train. It was only a 27 minute journey to Shintoku station which was a bigger and manned station. Ticket purchase occurred on arrival and it was a bargain 640 yen per adult. Thankfully our two prebooked taxis were waiting for us. Between the jumbo taxi and the regular taxi, we were able to fit the luggage of all 12 of us comfortably (12 large suitcases and 12 carry ons). The total fare from the station to Club Med Sahoro between both cabs was only around 9000 yen for a 15 minute drive.
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| Tomamu Station |
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| No one else there! |
Unfortunately our initial introduction to Club Med Sahoro was not the smoothest. Expectations were high after our most wonderful experience at Club Med Valmorel in France and we were disappointed with the many inefficiencies we faced that were not at Valmorel. Our welcome was friendly and we were given face towels and a drink but it went downhill from there. The lifts to our rooms were being serviced and we were pointed toward the ski service to get our skis. It was advertised to be open. However, upon reaching there, we were informed that they could not help us until 4:30pm. This was at 3pm. Alright...next step we thought we could register the children for kids club. Wrong! Even though they were open, we could only register them at 6pm which we found out later was the one and the same step as registering them for ski school. This information though was not clearly communicated. Adult ski school registration also occurred at 6pm as did dinner. 6pm was a chaos at both ski school registration and at the dining room. Over at ski school registration, there was confusion as to whether or not there was a teen club. We were told it was cancelled because there were not enough teens which surprised us. Strangely enough other families with teens were also told the same thing. Surely that was enough children already to for a program to occur? The manager had to come by later to apologise and to confirm that the teen club indeed was running. The last irksome thing we discovered was that we had to register for ski school EVERY DAY. We also didn't understand why the lift passes could not be included in the welcome pack that we received at check in rather than requiring us to pick them up at 8pm at reception.
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| Ski school registration chaos |
Meanwhile over at the dining table, there was a crazy line for the sushi (30 minutes in a line just to get some albeit freshly made). There were children running wild everywhere (not too judgmental here as mine will probably partake shortly) and it was almost like a marketplace. The food itself though was quite decent. There was a good variety on offer and most were tasty including the desserts.
One word of warning, Club Med Sahoro is old, which in itself isn't a problem, but do be prepared for tired rooms and facilities. We booked a deluxe room which could fit all 5 of us. The rooms itself though were clean and reasonably spacious and our bathroom seems to be have recently renovated. There was really only one lounge which wasn't anywhere near big enough. If you got there late, you would not get any seats. Tea and coffee are served by the same person who cater to the children's drinks, so there can be a long wait for a simple cup of caffeine...
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| Our deluxe room with 3 futons on the tatami mats for the children |
We were looking forward to the skiing the next day and hopefully it will be as good as everyone reports it to be! We were also glad to finally meet up with the Yeohs!
Apologies for the lack of photos. We were too busy trying to sort things out and so the camera did not make any appearance other than in our room.
Haven't read your update yet, but sadly it sounds a little like Club Med Bali. There was lots to love, but in practice, lots to loathe too.
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