Hokkaido, Japan is my new home. With winter fast approaching and I spend more time indoors, next to the big, orange, glowing kerosene heater, I decided to compile and check a list of awesome bands from Hokkaido.

There are numerous great artists from Japan’s large, expansive northern island prefecture. Though, most of the bands mentioned below formed in Sapporo, many of the members are from elsewhere in Hokkaido. Here’s an alphabetical list of 10 great bands from Hokkaido, some moderately popular, some massively huge. Check it out:

BAZRA formed in 1999 in Sapporo. Watch “Jump” by BAZRA

bloodthirsty butchers have been rocking ever since they formed in Sapporo in 1987. Watch “Jack Nicolson” by bloodthirsty butchers

Bugy Craxone started taking stages in Sapporo in 1997. Watch “Come On” by Bugy Craxone

Eastern Youth formed in Sapporo in 1988. Vocalist/guitarist Yoshino Hisashi is from Obihiro and drummer Tamori Atsuya is from Rebun. Watch “Boiling Point 36℃” by Eastern Youth

monobright formed in Sapporo in 2006. Members are from Nemuro, Ishikari, Iwamizawa, and Sapporo. Watch “踊る脳” by monobright

Sakanaction (サカナクション) formed in Sapporo in 2005. Members are from Otaru and Sapporo. Watch “セントレイ” by Sakanaction

sleepy.ab formed in Sapporo in 1998. Watch “Melody” by sleepy.ab

tacica formed in Sapporo in 2005. Watch “人間1/2″ by tacica

the pillows formed in Hokkaido in 1989 and vocalist/guitarist Sawao Yamanaka and guitarist Yoshiaki Manabe are from Hokkaido. Watch “雨上がりに見た幻” by the pillows

Yoshida Brothers are originally from Noboribetsu. Watch “Rising” by Yoshida Brothers

OTHER RANDOM MENTIONS (because there’s still too many more to list):

Rappers THA BLUE HERB as well as DJs DAISHI DANCE and Michita are all from Sapporo. Miwa Yoshida (吉田美和) of mega-huge duo DREAMS COME TRUE is from Ikeda. NICO Touches the Walls’ guitarist Furumura Daisuke (古村大介) is from Hakodate.

There are a ton more artists from Hokkaido, both more and less famous than those mentioned here or now defunct. Who else is cool and from Hokkaido?