Tsunami Alerts - but no harm done!! We're ok!

I got a nervous phonecall from my boyfriend a few hours ago, asking about the tsunami that hit off the coast of Japan. Alerts were issued after an 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast, but there have not been reports of any danger yet. I did receive an email from an embassy-info listserve informing people living on or near the coasts of (the northern island of) Hokkaido to get to higher areas and the tsunami alert is the top story on CNN.COM right now, but otherwise, no reason to be concerned.
The idea of earthquakes is actually quite frightening to me (ironic I moved to the country that has over 20% of the world's earthquakes, then, huh?). However, after all the media surrounding the tsunami in southeast asia two years ago and since I started doing a little personal research and visiting earthquake museums and information sites in the area, I feel more comfortable and prepared for something actually happening. I still hope it never does, but it is still better to be safe than sorry.
I wrote a blog on this topic after my visit to Shinsaikoen (the Earthquake Park museum on Awaji Island), where they preserved the Nojima faultline after it - along with several other faults - shifted and shook the area during the 1995 7.2-magnitude Hanshin earthwuake. The museum was interesting, but it was a little surreal to be standing on the seams of the earth. I'll post the blog soon.