The quake forced a wall of water to descend on the Japanese coast, smashing ships into the shore and sending cars floating down city streets.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says Kauai was the first island hit by the tsunami, which was quickly sweeping through the Hawaiian Island chain. Officials predicted Hawaii would experience waves up to two metres.
Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii were evacuated to refuge areas at community centres and schools, while tourists in Waikiki were moved to higher floors of their high-rise hotels.
Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunami waves hit the state, which had hours to prepare.
The warnings issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre cover an area stretching the entire western coast of the United States and Canada from the Mexican border to Chignik Bay in Alaska.
Waves could hit the western coast of the US between 7am and 7.30am local time (2am and 2.30am AEDT).
Small waves so far
The tsunami was expected to hit the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory at 1am local time (8pm AEDT), but no big waves came. Waves near a metre high hit the beach in Saipan, and sirens still sounded in the empty streets.
Small tsunami waves hit the Philippines hours after the quake, but there were no reports of local damage or casualties.
"This looks like good news," Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Renato Solidum said after reporting waves ranging from 30cm to one metre.
The Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said a small tsunami reached Indonesia's eastern coastline without causing any damage.
"A tsunami of only 10 centimetres triggered by the earthquake in Japan was detected in the North Sulawesi and Maluku islands," an agency official said.
"We have just lifted the tsunami alert in Indonesia."
In Guam, authorities advised people to evacuate low areas of the US territory and seek ground higher than 15 metres above sea level and 30 metres inland.
Australia was not in danger because it was protected by island nations to the north, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, that would largely absorb any wave activity, said Chris Ryan, a forecaster at the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre.
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