Ms. Higa holds a box of "Okashina" Kyoto PR Partner (middle) = a hotel in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

On February 18, Kyoto Prefecture appointed a chocolate bar containing Uji tea leaves and Uji powdered tea, which is produced by the large food manufacturer "Nestle Japan Ltd.," to the post of tourism ambassador for sweets called "'Okashina' Kyoto PR Partner," or sweets partner for Kyoto PR, for the first time. The company has printed a message appealing for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage registration for Japanese green tea and Uji tea, and has also cooperated in promoting Kyoto culture on the Internet.

The appointed chocolate bar is the "Kit Kat Mini Otona no Amasa Maccha," or Kit Kat Mini, adult sweetness with powdered green tea flavor, which was released on the same day. The Kit Kat series is sold in 70 countries worldwide and many foreign tourists buy it in its Japanese style arrangement as a souvenir.

In the appointment ceremony held that day in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Noboru Ohta, Vice-Governor of Kyoto Prefecture, said expectantly, "I want this chocolate to showcase the fragrance and culture of Kyoto internationally." Manami Higa, an actress and image character, said "Powdered green tea has a bittersweet taste unique to Japan. I hope that the people who taste this chocolate will want to come to Kyoto."