Tasmania to Tokyo – Kiroro – Day 77 can be found here.
We appear to have settled into a routine here.
I wake naturally shortly after 8 am. My wife had already said that it was a coin toss as to whether she would make it out this morning, and this time the coin landed on “ankle is still sore from hoofing it halfway up the mountain.” On the bright side, she will get a much-welcome lie-in this morning.
Our son is ready for his lesson, and departs shortly after I go in to rouse our daughter for the day. Down for breakfast, back up to get changed into our ‘finery.’ There are a lot of guests walking around the resort in pristine snowpants, which always begs the question – Why engage in winter sports cosplay? There’s a mountain that needs skiing!
Or half a mountain, at least – high winds have unfortunatley closed the top of both the Nagamine and Kiroro peaks, so we are confined to the Central Express chairlift.
It’s tough to read the writing, but the red squares say “Difficult” while the black diamond says “Very Difficult”
(Yoishi is also open, but we find a run we like on Central Express so we decide to stick with our favourites. Both lifts unfortunately have long lines, but they move quickly – and we wait for perhaps 10 minutes before boarding.)
The initial section is steep and slushy – with mogul-like mounds forming on the steepest sections – but it levels out before long, giving our daughter the chance to practice her S turns:
You can see how steep and slushy it is at the top – but thankfully the lower sections of the hill are better suited for snowboarding
The rain has continued to hold off, but 8 mm is expected this evening and tomorrow it’s expected to reach a whopping 21 Celsius (70 Farenheit).
This adds Kiroro to the long, long list of ski resorts to which we have brought rain – including Bromont, Le Massif, Tremblant (in March and January), Blue Mountain, and Sir Sam’s.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – do not join us for a ski holiday.
But we’re not concerned. We have had several days of quite good skiing, and so we’ll take the rest of this trip as it comes. And if that means the rest of it will be spent sipping cocktails and taking it easy? Well, we’ll muddle through somehow.
Off to lunch – usual buffet fare, with some chicken karaage thrown in for good measure.
Our son really enjoyed his snowboarding lessons – there were only 6 of them in total today. However, he’d like to have a sleep-in so we’ll cancel his lessons for tomorrow. We might still all make it to the hill if conditions are favourable.
Back to our usual out-of-the-way seats for a bit of reading / writing / homework time. The coffee remains one of the highlights of the Club Med Kiroro – it’s fast, and it’s exceptional.
3:30 pm rolls around, and the kids vanish off into Teens Club. The adults head off for snack time shortly thereafter:
We can’t get enough of these traditional Japanese hotdogs
The kids are still waiting around for their GO, so my wife makes some inquiries – sounds like they will be over shortly. It’s still well before 4 pm, so well within the bounds of when it might start. It’s all a bit informal, but seems to be working.
We then head to Kakurega for some more relaxed lounging. This is definitely another highlight of the resort – though it seems to be little-known. It’s rare that there are more than 10 guests here at any point in time.
I’d also like to offer a virtual nod of appreciation to the couple who took their speakphone call to another room after I gave them the stinkeye.
I check back on the kiddos after a stretch. They’re no longer in the Theatre, so presumably their GO has picked them up.
There’s a different bartender working at Kakurega today, and he seems to have some difficulty hearing which drinks we’re ordering. This means that sometimes we have two of the wrong drink showing up, yet we give them a good home. Waste not, want not.
This bartender also does not kick us out after an hour – technically all the time we’re supposed to have at Kakurega per day – so he’s all right in our books.
My wife goes to the Ski School / Excursions desk to confirm that our son is not booked for a lesson tomorrow (he is not) and see if they have a sense of whether the hill will be closed tomorrow due to rain.
So far, so good – looks like the hill will be open.
The Ski School / Excursions desk, in case anyone was curious – there can be lines right at open, but generally they are quick to address questions and get people signed up
We then head to the much-anticipated cocktail party – and it’s pretty good, actually.
They have plenty of delicious cocktails:
Though one seems to be rimmed with… coconut? And the other has a gold glitter paint that gets all over our hands. Aesthetically pleasing? Sure. Convenient for guests? No.
There’s also a selection of light bites, including traditional Japanese sliders:
Club Med has brought in Caldera Daiko – a local drumming group – to perform, too. And they are excellent:
Another tasty meal tonight. I manage to snatch some lamb Provence fresh from the oven, as well as some beef rendang:
And it is spicy
We finish dinner at around 7 pm and the kids won’t wrap up Teens Club til 8:30 pm, so I decide to finally visit the onsen.
No photos permitted of course, so I’ll rely on Club Med’s stock photos instead.
I already have my yukata (onsen robe) so I put that overtop of a bathing suit and head out through the resort. (The bathing suit will need to be removed before I enter the onsen, but I figure it’s less problematic than traversing the hotel in solely a robe.)
I have to pass outside briefly to reach the Wellness Centre, but the walkways are free of snow and the weather remains mild – so no issues there. Once at the front desk, guests are required to sign in and then are given a locker for their valuables. There are also baskets within the locker room in which to deposit ones other belongings – my robe, slippers, and bathing suit.
There are separate onsens for men and women, and no bathing attire is permitted. Having done this once in Kyoto, I’m now more prepared – and generally your fellow guests will avert their eyes when you’re walking around in the altogether.
There are both large and small towels available. I grab one of each right off the bat, though generally one would only grab the small towel and leave the large towel in the locker room until you are ready to dry off at the very end. We live and learn.
Guests are required to wash in one of the sit-down or stand-up shower stalls before entering the baths. There are cold and hot indoor baths:
Photo Credit: Snowscene.com.au
And another set of baths outdoors as well.
Photo Credit: Club Med Kiroro Grand
The indoor baths have a headrest and bubblers, while the outdoor baths are fed by a natural hot spring.
There’s also a sauna:
Photo Credit: Snowscene.com.au
The baths are glorious after a long day of skiing.
I’m here for roughly 30 minutes before I start to overheat – I then shower off, get dressed back in my bathing suit and robe, and return to the room.
From here, my wife and I finally elect to visit Kakurega (the premium speakeasy) in the evening. Drinks are included from 4 pm to 7 pm, but after 8 pm they are only available at an extra charge.
As expected, there is no one here when we arrive.
My wife orders a cocktail called the Yuzu Whisper, while I order a single malt Japanese whiskey from Hiroshima called Tagouchi from Sakurao.
The total cost for both drinks is less than USD$30, which isn’t terrible – particularly compared to the absolute bedlam that’s unfolding at the Theatre.
Though – as much as we have enjoyed Kakurega – it’s clearly not the draw that Club Med was hoping it would be, particularly as a premium, extra-cost offering.
I’m not sure what the solution is. I’d certainly start by doing away with their reservation system, as no one bothers to reserve a spot. I’d also suggest having some sort of limited cover charge in the evening as opposed to charging for drinks – though it’s fine to continue to have premium offerings available.
But until there is significant demand for the bar during the day, it seems silly to charge for it at night. (Their ‘hidden door system’ might also be working against them.)
We are hit with an absolute wall of sound as we enter the Theatre. Even the process of collecting a glass of wine to take back to the room is headache inducing.
But that’s okay – we are quite content to have some quiet time on our own back in our room, sipping a cold beverage and looking forward to one last day at Club Med Kiroro Grand.