Rare Tornado Rips Through Suburb in Japan [PHOTOS]

A rare tornado ripped through Japan Monday in a suburban area north of Tokyo, causing damage to scores of homes and buildings as well as injuring at least 63 people.

Koshigaya city was hit hard. Japan Today reported 29 people injured in the city, three seriously, including a fractured skull.

Reports of damage included roof tiles scattered all over the streets, downed electricity poles and damage to a junior high school.

Seven students were injured when the roof flew off the gymnasium where their volleyball team practiced, glass windows shattered all around them, the Jiji Press agency reported.

Six homes were totally destroyed in Saitama prefecture, and 83 were partially damaged, according to Wunderground.

Tornadoes are uncommon in Japan, but present enough for there to be a Japanese word to describe them -- tatsumaki -- which means spiraling dragon.

"Weather conditions in the region today have been very unstable," said a meteorologist at Japan's weather agency, according to Japan Today.

"In flatter parts of the region particularly, warm, wet air can come inland and spark tornadoes. This is especially the case when there is a typhoon developing in the south," he said.

Wunderground reports Japan averages about 20 tornadoes a year.