Nya Arigato dance: put yourself and two friends in the Tokyo trend

What is the Nya Arigato dance trend?

It is a short, playful routine built on the song's chant: a "nya," a count of "ichi, ni, san" (one, two, three in Japanese) and an "arigato" (thank you). Dancers curl their hands into paws, frame their face, put their hands up like cat ears and bounce on the beat. The faces matter as much as the steps: winks, tongues out and exaggerated grins are part of the joke.

People find it under many names: Nya Arigato, the ichi ni san dance, the Tokyo dance, the cat dance from TikTok. All of them point to the same song and the same paw-and-ears moves. This vswp version is the group take, where three friends do the routine side by side.

Where does the original video come from?

"Tokyo" was released by the electronic producer Leat'eq on May 12, 2018. Before it became a dance, the track was known from a clip of anime girls dancing to it, taken from the visual novel "Food Girls," and the cat-ear pose of the dance looks much like that animation.

According to Know Your Meme, the TikTok dance was created by @papadragun, who posted a tutorial on February 4, 2021. It passed 14.6 million views in a month, more than a million videos used her sound within February 2021, and creators such as Bella Poarch posted their own versions. The routine keeps coming back every few years with new groups of friends.

The recording in this template is one of those later group versions; who filmed it is not confirmed, so the page describes only what is visible. It is a vertical video of about 15 seconds with the original song.

Who and what is in it?

It is night, outdoors, under dark trees. Above the dancers hangs a long line of colorful fabric ribbons, lit from below. Three young women stand shoulder to shoulder close to the camera, each one a separate person you can replace:

• Left. Long brown hair, a dark brown coat with a tied belt. She brings her paws up to her face with a sly smile.
• Center. Big black wraparound sunglasses, long hair and a jacket with thick fur cuffs. She leans toward the lens and pushes her hands into the frame, the most active dancer of the three.
• Right. Long black hair and a dark jacket. She winks, sticks her tongue out and curls her fingers into claws beside her face.

All three are replaced together in one generation, so the shared beat and the moments when hands cross between the dancers stay in sync.

How to make the Nya Arigato dance with AI

1. Open the Nya Arigato trend and sign in with Telegram. No password is needed.
2. Give a photo (JPEG, PNG or WebP) to each dancer you want to replace: Left, Center and Right. Anyone without a photo stays as in the original, so you can replace one, two or all three.
3. Decide on "Keep the original look". On, the coats, fur cuffs and sunglasses stay and only faces and hair change; off, the look comes from each photo.
4. Tap "Make the free preview" to see about 5 seconds at 480p with a small "vswp.app" mark. Every new user gets one.
5. Tap "Create the full video". The price in Telegram Stars depends on length, quality and number of people and is shown before you start; Stars come back if the render fails or is canceled.
6. Download the MP4 at 480p or 720p with "Tokyo" as the soundtrack, usually ready in minutes, and send it to your group chat.

By starting a video you confirm you have the right to use it and the photos, so ask your friends before using theirs. More clips are in the trends list.

Which photo for each dancer?

• Faces first. The three dancers are close to the camera and make big faces, so a sharp, front-facing photo in even light matters more than a full-body shot.
• Center and the sunglasses. With "Keep the original look" on, the center dancer keeps her sunglasses and much of the face is hidden. If you want your eyes to show, turn the option off and use a photo without sunglasses.
• Hair. All three have long hair that moves with the dance. A photo where your hair is loose and fully visible helps AI match its length and color.
• One person per photo. Each image should show only the friend for that role. Crop out anyone else.
• Hands near faces. Paws in front of the face and fast crossing hands are hard spots for AI; if a moment looks off, another take usually helps.

More tips: the best photos for an AI video swap and how to recreate a trend with friends.