In the devastated Japanese town of Kumano, Kosuke Kiyohara sat quietly, watching rescue workers push through the debris of battered homes and waiting for news of his missing sister and nephews.

"I have asked my family to prepare for the worst," the 38-year-old said quietly, sitting across from a house that had been ripped apart and tossed on its side by a huge landslide.

"I haven't been able to reach her phone since Friday night."

Dozens of people remain missing across parts of central and western Japan ravaged by days of record rainfall that has caused flooding and landslides and killed at least 100 people.

Kiyohara's 44-year-old sister and her two young sons were still missing beneath the wreckage of what was once a modern neighbourhood in Kumano, a town in Hiroshima known for brushmaking.

Her husband had already been rescued and taken to hospital, but there was no sign of the woman and their children.

Kiyohara, who looked exhausted, had trekked to the area from his nearby home in a neighbouring area that was relatively untouched by the disaster.

"I first came here on Saturday, and I immediately thought about the worst case scenario," he said.

"I just have to wait," he added, as his father milled around restlessly, watching rescue workers including police, firemen and troops.

"I wish she could have fled sooner."

On Monday morning, days of rain finally eased, and the bright sunlight laid bare the destruction caused by the rains.

In Kumano, the downpours loosened earth on the surrounding hillsides, and sent multiple waves of mud crashing down onto the homes below.

The road to the affected area remained impassable, but handfuls of residents made it back, escorted by rescue workers or troops.

- Slim chances for survivors -

Some burst into tears, cradling their faces in their hands as they saw the remains of their district.

The sounds of diggers and chainsaws being used to break up fallen trees cut through the air, and a dog barked from inside a house.

Around 100 people were working to move downed power poles and break up larger pieces of debris, including entire homes that had been ripped up and tossed around.

Rescue workers said it was still possible that survivors could be found, but acknowledged the odds were getting longer.

"It has been three days... It's possible that survivors will be found, but as the days pass the likelihood becomes slimmer," a soldier at the scene told AFP.

"We are removing debris and destroyed houses because there is a possibility that remains might be trapped underneath them," added the soldier, who declined to give his name.

"We have no idea how long it is going to take. We are also digging manually. If it rains again, another disaster could occur."

- A terrifying escape -

Naoaki Ogawa, 69, was among the luckier residents returning Monday, his home still standing and apparently undamaged.

But he described a terrifying last-minute escape on Friday night, as the landslide hit.

He was at home with his wife, adult daughter and nine-year-old grandson when they saw a wave of mud rush down towards the neighbouring house, carrying vehicles and trees along with it.

"Right before the first wave, I heard a very loud, rumbling sound from the mountains," he said.

"We immediately jumped in the car."

But the sole road out of the neighbourhood was already clogged with people trying to flee, and flying rocks began to hit the car.

"I turned the car to the right, and saw another wave of mud bulldoze down right where we were and sweep away three cars that were in front of me."

"I have lived here for more than 20 years, but there has never been something like this. Never. I was so scared. We were all scared."

With no way out, the family stayed in the car until rescuers arrived later that night, and moved them to a shelter.

On Saturday, Ogawa's birthday, they moved to a relative's house.

"It was the best birthday ever. I could have died at 68 years old and 364 days," he said.

Seeing his home, the laundry still hanging from a line on the balcony, Ogawa said he had mixed feelings.

"My house was okay. But I can't be just happy. What about my neighbours?" he said.

"I want to go back to my home and live a normal life, but I'm also afraid that this could happen again."

When he returned to his home on Monday, he found his mobile phone inside, full of missed calls from friends and family worried about his whereabouts.

"I forgot to bring it with me," he said.

"So many people called. I want to tell them that I am okay. I am well."

'I don't know where to start': Rains devastate Japan town
Mihara, Japan (AFP) July 8, 2018 - Masanori Hiramoto stood before his traditional home in the Japanese town of Mihara, speechless at the destruction caused by record rains that have killed dozens of people.

"I have lived here all my life. I have never seen anything like this," he said, standing in shock before the house in where he and his wife raised their three daughters, all now adults.

Hiramoto was one of around 60 evacuees from Hongo district in southern Hiroshima prefecture, who ventured back to their homes on Sunday, two days after fleeing when authorities issued evacuation orders.

More than two million people across parts of central and western Japan have been issued similar orders, but they are not mandatory and many of those who defied the instructions have found themselves caught up in flash floods and landslides.

Japan's government said Sunday that at least 48 people had been killed in days of record rains, but the toll was expected to rise further, with local media saying more than 60 people were dead and dozens more remained missing.

As Hiramoto inspected his ravaged home, it became clear that his decision to evacuate was the right one.

Most houses in his small rice-farming community stand on elevated ground above rice fields, but surging water swallowed fields and homes alike, including Hiramoto's.

The floodwaters were so powerful that they stripped layers from the walls, leaving the ground floor virtually unrecognisable.

Hiramoto didn't bother to observe the Japanese custom of removing his shoes before entering his home, stepping over a muddle of debris piled outside the front door straight onto flooring caked in mud.

"I'm looking at losses worth 10 million yen ($90,500)," he said, still dressed in the mud-covered shorts he was wearing when he evacuated Friday night.

"I don't even know where to start cleaning. I don't know what is where."

- Layers of wall stripped away -

The 68-year-old farmer had never evacuated his home before, but when a special alert came on the television on Friday night as he watched baseball, he and his wife decided to leave.

They headed out of the picturesque Hongo district and drove up to the local shelter in the mountains that surround it, a modest building with just two rooms, a kitchen and some toilets.

They found nearly 60 people already there, and decided to take cover in a nearby tunnel, but quickly abandoned the plan after mud began to flood into it.

The couple spent Friday night at a local highway rest stop and with no running water or electricity at their home, they were planning to head back to the shelter on Sunday night.

On the ground floor of their formerly well-decorated home, the powerful flood water had ripped away the outer layer of the walls, exposing the elaborate bamboo mesh inside.

Photo albums and other family possessions were jumbled together with debris on the floor.

Inside the soiled rooms, the fridge had been toppled over, and the damage on the walls showed flood waters had risen well above head height.

His heavy farm equipment, including a tractor, harvester and an industrial rice dryer had also been damaged, and Hiramoto couldn't bring himself to see whether they would even start.

He surveyed the scene, looking dazed and unsure where to start.

"I might start cleaning when the weather clears. But I need water," he said.

"There is no running water. Without water, I cannot clear mud from my house."

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Three more dead as record heavy rain hits Japan
Tokyo (AFP) July 6, 2018
Three people were found dead near rain-swollen rivers in Japan on Friday, officials said, as record downpours prompted authorities to order more than 210,000 people to evacuate their homes, with some areas hit by more than a metre of rainfall. The body of a woman was found by a river in central Japan's Gifu while a 59-year-old man was confirmed dead after being found by a river in western Hiroshima prefecture, local police said. A 52-year-old woman in the Kyoto region who went missing on Thursda ... read more