In the first Nagisa Park in Moriyama City, located on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, approximately 12,000 early-blooming rape blossoms, known as Kanzaki Hanana, are in full bloom. The contrast between these flowers and the snow-capped Hira Mountains on the opposite shore reflected on the lake’s surface heralds the arrival of spring along the lakeshore. In mid-January, the rape blossoms, which usually begin blooming one week earlier than usual, faced a setback due to a cold snap, but they still reached full bloom earlier than usual. Like cherry blossoms, rape blossoms bloom nationwide and represent spring. In the southern part of the Izu Peninsula, at Shimo-Kamo Onsen, both rape blossoms and Kawazu cherry blossoms bloom simultaneously during this season. In many other regions, rape blossoms bloom alongside cherry blossoms from March to April, and even after cherry blossoms have finished blooming, rape blossoms often continue to bloom. The rape blossoms in Yokohama Town, Aomori Prefecture, home to Japan’s largest rape blossom field, bloom from mid-May to early June. Thus, both cherry blossoms and rape blossoms bloom somewhere in Japan for about six months.

滋賀県の琵琶湖東岸に位置する守山市の第１なぎさ公園には、カンザキハナナ（寒咲花菜）という早咲きの菜の花約12,000本が満開を迎えています。湖面に映る冠雪した対岸の比良山とのコントラストが湖畔に春の訪れを告げています。１月中旬には、例年より１週間早く咲きはじめた菜の花が、寒波来襲で足踏みしましたが、それでも例年より早い満開です。菜の花も桜と同じで全国に咲き、春を代表する花です。伊豆半島の南伊豆にあたる下賀茂温泉では、もうこの時期に菜の花と河津桜が同時に咲きます。他の多くの地域では、３月から４月にかけて、桜と平行して咲きますが、桜が咲き終わっても菜の花は咲き続けるところが多いようです。日本最大の菜の花畑のある青森県横浜町の菜の花は５月中旬から６月初旬にかけて咲きますから、桜も菜の花も約６ヶ月間、日本のどこかで咲いていることになります。