Parts of Japan, including Tokyo, were swamped with heavy rains as tropical storm Malou lashed the country Wednesday. (CBC)

Tokyo and surrounding areas in Japan registered record rainfall of 100 millimetres per hour as tropical storm Malou churned in the area Wednesday.

Heavy rains swelled rivers, some of which burst their banks, flooding residential areas and destroying bridges. In other areas, the rain overwhelmed the sewage system, which overflowed onto streets.

There have been no reports of injuries so far, but at least two men, believed to be living in shacks near a major river, were trapped as the rising waters surrounded them and had to be rescued, according to Reuters.

The storm was the ninth typhoon of the season in the northeastern Pacific and the first to hit land northwest of Tokyo. Meteorologists blame this summer's unusually strong high pressure patterns for the unexpected storm path.

With its rains, the storm brought to an end what had been the longest and hottest heat wave in Japan's history.