With memories of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami still fresh more than 80,000 people, mostly living on Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido, evacuated to higher ground and Japan warned its inhabitants that waves of up to two meters (six and a half feet) could hit the eastern coast.

A Russian government alert warned of waves up to three meters (11 feet).

But the first tsunami known to hit land was just 40 centimeters (16 inches). It trickled ashore at the northeastern Japanese port of Nemuro at 9:42 pm (1242 GMT), 87 minutes after the earthquake, Japanese officials said.

Television footage showed rain but calm waters off Nemuro, which faces the Kuril chain.

Though the Kurils region is notorious for quakes, Wednesday's was unusually powerful. Japan's meteorological agency estimated it at magnitude 8.1 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) said it was magnitude 8.3.

The quake struck in the midst of the isolated islands, which are also claimed by Japan, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) northeast of Hokkaido, Japanese authorities said.

According to the USGS, there were a series of aftershocks which registered up to magnitude 6.5 in the half hour after the main quake.

In Tokyo, the government set up an emergency communication office on the tsunami but lifted its warnings after the small wave was reported.

Russian officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the Kurils.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Russia and Japan along with the Pacific islands of Marcus, Wake and Midway.

It issued a tsunami watch for areas including Indonesia, which is still recovering from the devastating December 2004 earthquake that killed some 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean coast, 168,000 of them in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

The US West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning covering the areas from Sand Point, Alaska, to Attu, Alaska. There was a "tsunami watch" alert for Washington state and Canada's British Columbia province.

Japanese officials urged residents to head to higher ground.

Hokkaido authorities said they issued mandatory evacuation orders for 10 municipalities, even though the quake was too far away to be felt in Japan's major population centers.

Nemuro, where the wavelet was recorded, was among the towns ordered emptied. "We have issued an evacuation warning to all residents living near the coast," said Hiroyuki Taniguchi, a local official.

"We have not had any sign of high waves. So far, there is no confusion in the city. We did not feel any jolts," he said.

Japan is home to 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes, which are frequently felt in major cities.

Japan prides itself on having one of the world's more accurate systems for predicting tsunamis.

The Indian Ocean tsunami, which registered a massive 9.1 magnitude, produced waves of more than 10 meters (30 feet) which devastated coastal villages from Indonesia to Sri Lanka. The wave reached as far as the African coast.

Related Links
Japan Meteorological Agency
When the Earth Quakes