Club Med Sahoro: I went on an all-inclusive Club Med ski holiday to Japan
Sunday, 12 May 2024
Silence is not golden; silence is the white of snow.
On a quiet mountain in northern Japan, a muted pink hue is kissing the whitened chain of peaks as the sun begins to emerge.
Silence is that precious moment of an early dawn on Sahoro, Hokkaido, before the chairlifts begin to whir, before the skiers take to the field, and the sound of their skinny sleds carving slices in the powder echoes down the slope.
The sun rises early. It’s daylight at 5.30am. My sister sits cross-legged on the tatami lounge of our room meditating, green tea brewing in a delicate painted cup, while I wait for my first coffee of the day to kick in.
Even after the ski field operations get underway, in springtime on Sahoro, the fields are uncrowded and uncluttered, there are few queues for the lifts or gondola, and the trails are still soft with untouched snow. My nose runs constantly outside as the biting mountain breeze invigorates my respiratory system, but the Club Med property I’m staying at offers cosiness and warmth at all times.
Club Med Sahoro is all-inclusive on-mountain resort, with group ski and snowboard lessons included, as well as all meals and drinks, daily apres-ski of hot sake, hot chocolate and hot noodles, and access to wellness facilities such as the gym, swimming pool, spa and ofuro - a Japanese sauna and bathing ritual. With an upfront price, you’ll know exactly what the bill will be at the end of your stay.
Situated at 400m, you can ski in and ski out. Guests are assigned a locker that stores ski gear between breaks, with heated boot racks which get switched on overnight to dry your boots.
Everything here is made simple so you can spend more time on the slopes and less time lugging boards, bags and skis from a shuttle or car park to the gondola. The ski field itself has 25km of alpine ski slopes, 17 lifts, nine beginner runs, five intermediate and seven black/advanced runs.
Over three days of lessons, I regained confidence on my skis after a five-year injury break, while working on drills such as pole planting, carving and turning skills and learning how to adapt to the changing ski conditions as the snow softens during the day.
Our instructors make us turn on one leg, or ski down the mountain balancing our poles across the tops of our wrists to develop our skills and body awareness. Only once did I accidentally bear-hug our Spanish instructor Edu after getting my left ski tangled in a tight turn, taking him down with me in front of the rest of the class.
“If you wanted a hug you could have just asked,” he smiles wryly.
Group ski lessons run every morning and afternoon, making it an ideal way to befriend others, who you’ll likely meet up with again at apres-ski, dinner or in the spa. The social aspect is similar to cruising, where you can sit down to eat with different people every day and get to know them over the course of the week.
Everything you need is in one place and there’s more than enough food to help replenish the energy expenditure on the slopes. Kids programmes keep the young’uns entertained on and off the slopes, and there’s nightly entertainment with themed dress-ups, dinners and parties.
With the sun rising so early, each day starts peacefully as breakfast isn’t served until 7am - the first of three hearty and substantial meals on offer each day. When you’re skiing all day, every bit of energy you can store for later counts.
There are traditional Japanese breakfast options such as udon noodles, tamagoyaki egg pancakes, steamed fish and hot broths but also cuisine from other parts of the world to suit your desires. Smoked salmon on a bagel? No problem. Fried rice and a fruit smoothie? Easy. Seafood balls and chicken rice porridge? Here are the toppings. Pain au chocolat? C’est ici.
The same goes for lunch and dinner. The Japanese food station offers the likes of sashimi, rice and ramen variations, then there specialty dishes from Italy, China, Indonesia and India, as well as a comprehensive salad bar.
Sometimes there’ll be local specialities, such as Hokkaido crab, and there’s always a dessert station showcasing a line-up of sweet treats, cakes and tarts, waffles or pancakes and a chocolate fountain. A selection of infused honeys sits alongside the cheese and cracker station.
Each day the body gets more tired but a swim and spa, or soak in the ofuro hot and cold baths at the end of each day helps relieve the muscle tension that is inevitable during a week of skiing.
By 7.30pm each night, we were already in our pyjamasand ready for bed, and by 8.30pm, bellies warmed and nourished with hot ramen and hot bathing, the silence of slumber falls amongst another snowy mountain eve.
Fact file:
Getting there: Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Narita International Airport (Tokyo) daily, with connections to Sapporo. See: airnewzealand.co.nz
Staying there: Five nights for two adults at Club Med Sahoro starts from NZ$4520. Five nights for a family of 4 (two adults and two children, one under the age of 11 and one between the ages of 12 and 17), from $5875. See: clubmed.co.nz
Carbon footprint: Flying generates carbon emissions. To reduce your impact, consider other ways of travelling, amalgamate your trips, and when you need to fly, consider offsetting emissions.
The writer was hosted by Club Med and travelled to Japan courtesy of Air New Zealand.