Tokaido shinkansen to Osaka is also running a bit slower for a week so the schedule is a bit delayed https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15382833 and may impact Obon travel. I think this is to reduce the possible dangers in case an earthquake causes derailment. Tohoku may be hit by a tropical storm early next week https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240810_13/ and get a month's worth of rain in a day. This can impact train schedules before, during, and after.

For those who are not aware - commonly used Western earthquake scales are logarithmic and measure release of energy. Shindo is a measure of ground shaking/intensity. Japanese news tends to give Shindo while their English reports tend to say Richter, but it's probably Moment magnitude. Just mentioning as that and a tsunami warning is useful to know in terms of assessing risk.
Loma Prieta was a 6.9 Mw (moment magnitude) and epicenter on land not far from inhabited areas. Tohoku was a 9 Mw/ 7 Shindo at sea, so some of the Tokyo videos are further from the epicenter are actually a Shindo 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T...nami#Intensity. Christchurch was a 6.2 Mw on land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_C...rch_earthquake

A 6 Mw on land near the epicenter is going to feel a lot more violent than a 5.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_...ntensity_scale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_magnitude_scale

If there is a tsunami warning, heed it. 90% of epicenter area Tohoku deaths are attributed to drowning. So if for some reason you're near the coast, you want to go for high ground and avoid cliffs. Erosion and movement can cause cliff side areas to collapse into landslides. If there is a tsunami warning, probably opt to visit the coast another day unlike the "oh, is it shaking" blase attitude you'll probably see from Japanese people after experiencing a 4 in a multi story building. Take the stairs if you leave soon after, though, instead of the elevator to be on the safe side (that isn't where I'd want to be stuck if/when an aftershock occurs) or up if your best choice is the same building's top floor. The warning might end up being an overestimation but tsunami usually accounts for larger loss of life than earthquake crushes.

Japanese buildings and bridges will likely survive the tremors but you might be shoved about so drop, cover, and hold. The buildings are usually built not to crumble https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ng-and-deadly/ but that usually means they'll sway. If you need to evacuate outdoors then look for clear areas. Avoid standing below electric lines and other things which might fall on you during aftershocks.

Those of us who choose to live in seismically active areas tend to go about our lives but there's also experience and drills (for school kids). It doesn't hurt to know how to assess the level of warning for the area you are in, restock your emergency kit, and check your exit routes. That is probably what plenty of Japanese people did over the last few days.

FWIW, I've asked cold weather residents some rather (probably stupidly basic) questions about living in real cold weather. If it hits 15/16 C in our moderate climate, I'm already in a puffy jacket, so I was clearly lacking the common sense to know toilet bowl water in an unheated house can freeze. Black ice, what is that? It's a good way for this silly tourist to put on an interpretive dance show for the locals but also result in an unwanted medical facility visit.