Kirk Spitzer

Special for USA TODAY

TOKYO — A powerful typhoon raced across Japan's crowded Kanto plain before moving offshore Monday, bringing heavy wind and rain and driving more than 400,000 people into temporary shelters.

By noon, the sun had broken out in Tokyo and officials were working to re-open bridges and elevated highways that had been closed due to heavy winds and return city services to normal.

Earlier, the fast-moving storm killed one U.S. airman and left two others missing in southern Japan, officials said. It also halted recovery operations at the site of last month's deadly volcano eruption, where 51 people were killed and at least 12 others are missing.

Three U.S. Air Force members were pulled into heavy surf Sunday while taking photos on the island of Okinawa, where some 25,000 American troops are based, Japan's coast guard said.

The U.S. Air Force confirmed that three airmen were washed out to sea and that one had died. Air Force helicopters and Japan coast guard cutters resumed the search early Monday.

Typhoon Phanfone came ashore near the city of Hamamatsu shortly after 8 a.m. Monday. Authorities issued evacuation advisories for nearly half a million people in the storm's path, which included the Tohoku region in northeast Japan, which was hard hit by 2011's earthquake and tsunami.

Bullet train service was suspended between Tokyo and Osaka because of heavy rain, and more than 600 flights were canceled at Tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports. Most commuter lines were expected to run on abbreviated schedules. Most schools, businesses and government offices in the Tokyo area remained open.

Earlier Sunday, officials suspended search operations at Mount Ontake, in central Japan, site of the Sept. 27 volcano eruption, because of treacherous conditions created by heavy rain mixed with up to 2 feet of ash on the ground. The search resumed on hold Monday for fear of mudslides in the steep terrain.

Nearly 1,000 police officers, firefighters, soldiers and others have been working to locate and bring down victims from the 10,000-foot volcano, a popular hiking spot not far from Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics.

It was the worst volcano disaster in Japan in nearly 100 years.

The eruption and search for victims has transfixed much of Japan. Some of the victims were able to call relatives on their cellphones before dying from their injuries, and others took dramatic photos and video that have since been posted online. The search for victims will continue as soon as conditions allow.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that Typhoon Phanfone could bring as much as 3 to 4 inches of rain per hour in the Tohoku region even after moving offshore Monday.

The Formula One race at Suzuka, in central Japan, was brought to an early end Sunday after a severe crash in rain from the storm.

French driver Jules Bianchi's Ferrari-powered Marussia car went off the track in a turn and struck equipment that was in place to remove another car that had crashed earlier in the same corner. Bianchi was in critical condition after surgery for a head injury.

Contributing: William M. Welch in Los Angeles; Associated Press