Depending on the age of your kids and yourselves, do consider hitting the summit. I won’t say it’s easy, but I’ve done it a couple of times and it’s not incredibly hard. Besides, going down the ash slides on the way back down is half the fun.

If you were looking for a day hike, and don’t plan on hitting the summit (it is very doable in a long day), frankly there are a lot of nicer places to hike. Much of Fuji looks like a moon, albeit with assorted trash. Most hikers go up at night (to see the sunrise) and so you aren’t as exposed to this.

So, if you are looking for a good day hike and don’t want to brave the crowds or altitude of Fuji, I’d suggest some of the trails in the national forests surrounding Fuji, or maybe Hakone, or even out on the Izu Peninsula.