You don’t need a partner to add romance to your surroundings this holiday season.

Our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori is known for being one of the most brilliant minds in the office. As the mastermind behind outdoor shower dining and the small apartment batting cage, Go is always looking for ways to reinvent the wheel, and the less it costs, the better.

So this week, when he was at home planning a night stroll to view some of the city’s illuminations, the wheels began turning in his head again. He was soon struck by yet another flash of genius, and like Neo suddenly knowing Kung Fu in the Matrix, Go turned his head and whispered:

“I know how to take romantic photos.”  

Go is always generous when it comes to sharing his genius ideas, so he quickly demonstrated his hack for the world to enjoy. If you want to take romantic pictures …

▼ Lift the lens of your camera to your forehead and/or nose, and rub vigorously.

We initially thought Go might’ve been trying to become one with the machine, attempting to impart some sage wisdom into the phone from his third eye, but he told us it was much simpler than that. What the forehead-rub hack does is it covers your lens in a layer of oil, and Go says this will allow you to take “amazingly fantastic photos”.

▼ A hack that’s especially useful for people with oily T-zones.

Go instantly put his tremendous discovery to work, rubbing and snapping before-and-after photos of his living room.

Go was suitably impressed with the soft-lens effect when aiming his camera at light sources.

Go’s discovery was perfectly timed for the winter light-ups in his area, so as soon as the sun set, he rugged up and headed outside, using trial and error to get just the right amount of oil on the lens.

▼ Hmmm…maybe this was a little too much oil.

▼ The degree of “romanticity”, as Go calls it, changes depending on the oily conditions.

▼ Even Go was surprised at the pictures he was taking, which looked as if he’d applied a filter to them.

▼ No filter here — just the sweaty oil of a man’s forehead.

▼ A touch of oil makes even the dullest of Christmas trees sparkle with festive joy.

Go made some fantastic memories during his nighttime stroll, and he can’t wait to share the images with friends and family. Whether or not he’ll share the secret behind the special effects is another story, though, because, like eating rice balls made from your own sweat, there are some things your family are better off not knowing.

Photos: ©SoraNews24 
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[ Read in Japanese ]