から～にかけてApproximate range from one point to another
から～にかけて marks an approximate continuous span between two times or places. Unlike a sharply defined start and end, the boundaries are presented as somewhat loose.
How the range is viewed
から～にかけて points from one landmark toward another and treats the area between them as a broad stretch. The event may continue, recur, or be distributed across much of that stretch; the sentence does not necessarily claim that every moment or every location is included.
Time and geographical ranges
Weather and other phenomena that develop across a period or region are especially natural with this construction.
Choose an event that can extend across the range
The rest of the sentence should describe something that can continue, develop, recur, or appear in multiple places within the range. Weather, seasonal changes, traffic, geographical distribution, physical symptoms, and effects spreading through an area all fit naturally.
A bodily region
首から肩にかけて、鈍い痛みがある。
I have a dull pain extending from my neck to my shoulder.
AnalyzeApproximate span versus exact endpoints
Use から～にかけて when the two points frame a loose stretch. Use から～まで when the start and end are clear boundaries, as in the exact reception hours below.
受付は午前九時から午後五時までです。
Reception is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
AnalyzeMore examples
この地方では、四月から五月にかけて菜の花が見頃を迎える。
In this region, rapeseed flowers are at their best from around April into May.
Analyze年末から年始にかけて、高速道路は混雑しやすい。
Expressways tend to be crowded from the end of the year into the New Year period.
Analyze駅前から川沿いにかけて、古い商店が点在している。
Old shops are scattered across the area from in front of the station toward the riverside.
Analyze頬からあごにかけて、肌が赤くなっている。
The skin from the cheek down toward the chin has become red.
Analyze午後から夜にかけて、山沿いでは雷雨となる可能性がある。
There is a possibility of thunderstorms along the mountains from the afternoon into the evening.
Analyze関東南部から伊豆諸島にかけて、高い波が予想されている。
High waves are forecast from southern Kanto toward the Izu Islands.
Analyze