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.

My first question and concern would be the age of your children.

I disagree that Fuji isn’t a tough hike, but I suppose that could depend on the trail you take.

If you’re not going for the summit, you’ll find people on another side of the mountain who may live in the area, or just like you, are out for something to do for the day.

Also, you can take a bus halfway up the mountain, and the remaining hike from there is approx 6-8 hours.

Mostly, I’d say just make sure you have good weather. We had really bad weather as you can see in the picture.

Go for it! I have videos up that show little Japanese kids, probably 5 and 6 years old chugging right along.

http://www.dreamsofadventure.us/2006/08/26/the-ascent-of-mount-fuji/