A powerful typhoon has forced the evacuation of thousands of people in Japan, and the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Typhoon Guchol is expected to soak Tokyo with up to 300 millimetres of rain.

With winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour, it was lashing its way across Japan's main island of Honshu overnight.

More than 10,000 people in the tsunami-hit city of Ishinomaki were advised to evacuate, with the typhoon and a high tide forecast to inundate parts of the coastal community.

More than 400 flights have been cancelled and some bullet train services disrupted.

With many centres soaked by hundreds of millimetres of rain, there are also fears of landslides in some areas.