I just wanna know how Tokyo became this big both area and population? After WWII, Tokyo wasn't even that huge but for the past decades the city grew to be the largest in the world.

Is it because of the strong economy that many Japanese decided to move to Tokyo or are there other reasons as well?

Tokyo has been the Japanese capital for a few hundred years. Interestingly, the Kansai region (Osaka area) has traditionally been an important economic powerhouse for the country.

http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/keiei/seisaku/chousa/kihou/149/pdf/02.pdf

Tokyo has been one of the world's largest cities since the 1700s. After WWII, its size may have been artificially deflated by the war, but it rebounded quickly in the 1950s. One of the reasons why Tokyo is so large is that it is now the commercial, media, publishing, government, educational, finance and transport center of Japan, and for many years, Asia. Plus, like most industrialized countries, Japan experienced a baby boom/better health care after the war. A large part of the growth can probably be explained by an increasing number of healthier babies.

because most of jappan is moutains and its hard to live in the moutains

yup, Tokyo has been one of world's biggest cities for this 300 years.
Besides, after WW2, for the first time, Tokyo ousted Osaka from the post as Japan's economic center.

Tokyo has been the Japanese capital for a few hundred years. Interestingly, the Kansai region (Osaka area) has traditionally been an important economic powerhouse for the country.

And a Food basket of Japan as well.

Another old thread risen from the grave...

FYI, Tokyo (known as Edo then) in 1721 had an estimated population of 1 million, which made it the largest city in the world at that time.

Hmm........interesting stuff.

I'm not familiar with Japanese history at all so I'll ask:
How long did Kyoto serve as the nation's capital? (which AFAIK started with the initiation of the Heian period led by the Fujiwara clan)

But yeah how long did Kyoto serve as the capital? Did it go as far as during the events of the Meiji Restoration?

Kyoto served Japan as the capital from 794 to 1868. It was more like the political capital of Japan.
Kyoto means the capital city.

Kyoto, as the home of the emperor, was indeed the official capital until 1868, but de facto it had already lost political influence to Kamakura in 1185. Kamakura was the home of the bakufu=shogunate (you can call it a "military government"), the new government created by Minamoto no Yoritomo.

The Minamoto were mainly rooted in Eastern Japan, and their rise started in the mid-11th century. One of the reason behind that is that at the end of the first millenium, Kantô started to be more populous.

It further gained economic strenght with the Kamakura bakufu, and then with the start of Edo shogunate in 1603, the power shifted to present-day Tokyo. Kantô had been already the center of power for a few centuries so I think it's only natural that Edo quickly became the biggest city in Japan.

You can also note that the 3 biggest urban area of Japan corresponds to the 3 biggest plains, and is quite straightforward: Arable land=>People=>Economic potential.
Indeed, the rise of Kanto started when forests (of the south-west of the plain, at first) started to be cut and replaced with fields and paddies.

これ、中にいるとわかるよ。
東京はただ首都というだけで、実際の住民はかなりの無知な田舎者。
人口が爆発的に増えたのは全国区からの移住が主な原因。
東京から世界を覗き込むとかなりの妄想で痛々しい。
都内の精神病院は統合失調症患者で常に満床状態というのもかなりのネタ。
監獄に落ちきると、どれだけゲロ以下のグロを妄想するかわからず、こんなものを外に出すとどれほどの仕打ちに合うかわからない。

歴史を辿ると東京は元々蝦夷、オリジナルの景色をみるとわかる。
森林を伐採して移民、開拓をしたのは弥生人。
どれだけルーツが朝鮮半島の人間が入り込んで人工的に変えてきたかわからない。

携帯を覗き込んでは下を向いて歩いたり、部屋を暗くしてみたり、
確かに普通の人がみたら病気だということがわかる。
これキモイ。咳き込む。

京の名前を使っている自体、これが呪いの状態だとわかる。

結局人が集まってくるのは仕事だけの理由。
本当ならこんな監獄はゴメン。