How to Download TokyoMotion Videos: Technical Analysis of Stream Patterns, CDNs, and Download Methods
A comprehensive research document analyzing TokyoMotion's video infrastructure, embed patterns, stream formats, and optimal download strategies using modern tools
Authors: SERP Apps
Date: December 2025
Version: 1.0
This research document provides a technical overview of TokyoMotion's video delivery pipeline, including KVS-style player configuration, HLS/MP4 assets, and CDN request patterns used for playback and downloads.
- Introduction
- TokyoMotion Video Infrastructure Overview
- URL Patterns and Detection
- Stream Formats and CDN Analysis
- yt-dlp Implementation Strategies
- FFmpeg Processing Techniques
- Alternative Tools and Backup Methods
- TokyoMotion API Integration
- Implementation Recommendations
- Troubleshooting and Edge Cases
- Conclusion
TokyoMotion relies on KVS-style player metadata. Watch pages often expose MP4 URLs in JavaScript variables, with HLS playlists as fallbacks.
- TokyoMotion watch pages and embed endpoints
- Player configuration payloads (flashvars, JSON, or inline scripts)
- HLS manifests and MP4 direct file URLs
- Common CDN hostnames and URL query patterns
- Inspect player initialization scripts for video_url, hls, and file keys
- Capture network requests while playback starts
- Validate URLs with yt-dlp and ffprobe
- Document stream variants by quality and codec
- Direct MP4 files hosted on CDN
- HLS streams exposed via m3u8 playlists
- Thumbnail and preview assets hosted on static subdomains
- Primary site domain: tokyomotion.net
- CDN patterns: cdn.tokyomotion.net, s1.tokyomotion.net, s2.tokyomotion.net
- KVS get_file endpoint as the gateway to media assets
- User loads watch page
- Player script assembles flashvars / JSON config
- video_url or hls_url is resolved via get_file
- Client requests MP4 or m3u8 from CDN
- Most public videos are accessible without auth
- Some videos require session cookies or age gate confirmation
- Signed URLs may expire; capture fresh URLs near download time
https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/
https://tokyomotion.net/video/<id>/<slug>/
https://tokyomotion.net/videos/<slug>/
https://tokyomotion.net/embed/<id>
https://tokyomotion.net/embed/<id>?autoplay=1
https://tokyomotion.net/get_file/<hash>/<id>/<quality>.mp4
https://tokyomotion.net/get_file/<hash>/<id>/playlist.m3u8
https://cdn.tokyomotion.net/videos/<id>/<file>.mp4
tokyomotion\.net/video/([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)
tokyomotion\.net/embed/([0-9]+)
get_file/[^/]+/([0-9]+)/grep -oE "https?://[^'\" ]+\.(mp4|m3u8|m4s|ts)" page.html | sort -u
grep -oE "tokyomotion\.net/(video|embed)/[^'\" ]+" page.html | sort -u| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MP4 (progressive) | .mp4 | Direct file URLs; easiest to download |
| HLS (adaptive) | .m3u8 | Playlist-based; download via yt-dlp or ffmpeg |
| fMP4 segments | .m4s | Segmented assets referenced by HLS playlists |
| Quality | Typical Resolution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 360p - 480p | Fast preview streams or mobile variants |
| Medium | 720p | Common default for web playback |
| High | 1080p+ | Available when source uploads are higher quality |
- get_file URLs often include a hash segment and short-lived tokens
- Quality is commonly encoded in the filename or path
- Referer and Origin headers can affect access
ffprobe -hide_banner -show_streams "video.mp4"
ffprobe -hide_banner -show_format "video.mp4"
ffprobe -hide_banner -i "playlist.m3u8"yt-dlp can parse direct MP4 URLs or HLS manifests. Use cookies when content is gated and prefer format selection to control quality.
yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
yt-dlp -F "https://example.com/watch/123"- Use --cookies-from-browser to re-use a logged-in session if required
- Pass referer headers with --add-header when the CDN enforces origin checks
yt-dlp -f bestvideo+bestaudio/best "URL"
yt-dlp -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"
yt-dlp --download-archive archive.txt "URL"yt-dlp "https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/"
yt-dlp -F "https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/"
yt-dlp -f best "https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/"yt-dlp -a urls.txt --download-archive archive.txt
yt-dlp --no-overwrites --continue "URL"- Use --retries and --fragment-retries for flaky HLS
- If 403/401 occurs, refresh cookies or add referer headers
- Use --downloader aria2c for large MP4 files
FFmpeg is useful for remuxing HLS playlists into MP4 and validating codecs without re-encoding.
ffprobe -hide_banner -i "playlist.m3u8"
ffmpeg -i "playlist.m3u8" -c copy output.mp4ffmpeg -i "playlist.m3u8" -c copy output.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -movflags +faststart output.mp4
ffprobe -hide_banner -show_streams output.mp4streamlink "https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/" best -o output.mp4
streamlink --loglevel debug "URL" bestaria2c -o video.mp4 "https://cdn.tokyomotion.net/videos/<id>/<file>.mp4"
aria2c -i urls.txt -j 4gallery-dl "https://tokyomotion.net/video/<slug>/"
gallery-dl -g "URL"- Filter Network tab for m3u8, mp4, or get_file requests
- Check player initialization scripts for video_url or hls_url
- Copy request URL as cURL to preserve headers
- None documented; rely on page and player data extraction
# No public API calls identified; extract URLs from HTML/player data
- Many KVS deployments do not expose a documented API
- If a tokenized endpoint exists, capture it from the player payload
- Parse inline player config for direct MP4 URLs
- Fallback to HLS playlist URLs (m3u8)
- If both are absent, scan Network logs for get_file requests
- Prefer direct MP4 when available for fastest downloads
- Cache resolved URLs briefly; refresh if tokenized
- Surface download buttons near player and in grids where possible
- Use %(title)s.%(ext)s output templates to preserve context
- Store archives to prevent duplicate downloads
- HLS playlists may rotate segments; retry on 404
- Age-gate or consent modals can block player config
- Some videos are externally embedded and require provider-specific handling
TokyoMotion uses a KVS-style delivery model with MP4 and HLS variants. A robust downloader should first parse player config for direct media URLs, then fall back to HLS manifests and network inspection. yt-dlp remains the primary extraction tool, with ffmpeg and streamlink as reliable backups.
| Tool | Best Use Case | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| yt-dlp | Primary downloader for MP4/HLS | Supports cookies, format selection, retries |
| ffmpeg | Remuxing and validation | Useful for HLS to MP4 conversion |
| streamlink | Live/HLS fallback | Streams to file or pipes into ffmpeg |
| aria2c | Multi-connection HTTP/HLS downloads | Good for large files and retries |
| gallery-dl | Image-first or gallery-heavy sites | Best for gallery or attachment extraction |
This document is provided for lawful, personal, or authorized use cases only. Always respect the site terms of service, content creator rights, and applicable laws. If DRM or explicit access controls are present, do not attempt to bypass them; use official downloads or creator-provided access instead.
December 2025
90 days from last update or when site playback changes are observed.