Oki / Mount Fuji Guide

ex kids ski instructor here:)

so many variables with a 4 yr old.

your climb will be determined by obvious things like the conditions on the mountain at the time but the biggest factor would be the temperament of your child.

the wind up the top can get fierce. it's anyones guess how a 4yr old will react to this.

it is quite a hike, even for us big kids!

good luck.

I am wondering how this trip went? We are looking at climbing at the end of August with a 18 month old in a carrier and were looking at the same trail. We cannot seem to find much information from others who have climbed with a toddler and I would love to hear how feasible this is. Also, we were looking at the Subashiri trail as well, however we cannot seem to find transportation there. Busses only go to Kawguchiko trail. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

My husband and I climbed Fuji-San 3 weeks ago and elected to leave our 4 year-old son with friends. It is a hard climb for adults--rewarding yes, but exhausting. This is what I have observed and why I was glad that we did not bring him with us:

1. We took the trail from Kawguchiko (Fuji-Yoshida.) Some parts of this trail are quite steep and involve some maneuvering over rocks that are like giant steps. If your wee one gets tired, you may be too tired yourself to carry him/her up to the top...plus, in some areas, you really need to be on-the-ball with your footing. While climbing to the top, just before sunrise, I noticed that in the instance of inclement weather, these rocks could get very slippery. Also, winds at the top could get pretty fierce in bad weather--which can easily blow a little person off the trail and into a dangerous situation. It's hard to fall off the mountain, per se, but if one does fall, it could be serious--there are some steep inclines and drop offs. The howling wind may also scare the wits out of him or her (my little guy hates the wind.)

2. En route up the mountain, I fell victim to slight altitude sickness. Again, while it is strenuous for us adults and while I was able to overcome it, it is even harder on the munchkins. The truth is, you and the children can go all the way up to the summit and have no problems whatsoever, but if someone does have hypoxia--whether it's you or your kid--things can go from bad to worse VERY quickly.

3. The walk down from the summit can also be a bit scary for a little one. There's switchback after switchback of volcanic rock and the grade is steep--I have seen many people fall and my husband and I have fallen a few times ourselves. One guy fell so hard he messed up his ankle and his girlfriend had to hold him up the rest of the way when the trail leveled out between the 6th and 5th station.

4. Bathrooms are primative at best. Everything that is brought up on the mountain has to leave the mountain--and yes, this means diapers. Not to be gross, but the toilet paper is not to be flushed and most people, when finished with their toilet paper place the dirty paper in these little trash bags provided in the bathroom stalls. The toilets are bio-toilets and are basically like port-o-pottys. If your child is potty-trained but is finicky about bathrooms (like ours), this could be a challenge. An accident can pose even more of a challenge....or, if someone gets sick and throws up because of a lack of O2...remember...what comes up, comes back down! :-)

4. Lightning is an issue. We were fortunate enough to climb overnight and the weather was clear into the morning. However, I had a friend who climbed early morning while it was sunny and started making her way down in the afternoon in a lightning storm. She was petrified. Later that weekend, she found out two individuals were struck and killed by lightning on the mountain. Again, a scary situation for adults...it's much more magnified for our kids!

Just a few words of advice. Good luck and stay safe!

Thank you for all the great insight! We decided long ago not to go, and I had completely forgotten about this post. It definitely sounds way too dangerous, so I'm glad we decided against it!