Do I have a Japanese or a Hybrid?
If your tama's meal menu is in Japanese on the Tamagotchi itself, you have a Japanese Tamagotchi. But, what if it is still mint in the package (MIP)? You don't want to get stuck paying a lot of money for an original when you are only getting a hyrid. The packages are both written in Japanese so we can't really tell what we are getting. In the pictures below, can you tell which one is the Original?
The original is the one on the right. Hybrids have "Tamagotchi" written across the package, and the original is the Japanese "Tamagotch" with no 'I'. Hybrids look just like the Japanese, but have U.S. IC chips. So, the secret characters, menus, and death sequence are that of an American Tamagotchi. BTW, these particular tams have a banner across the top. The Hybrid, like it's package, reads TAMAGOTCHI, while the Japanese Original reads TAMAGOTCH.