Japanese Oreos vs American Oreos

I read on one of my favorite We-Import-Fun-Japanese-Stuff websites that Japanese Oreos taste different. Hm, could it be true or are they just trying to get you to buy something with Japanese packaging that tastes exactly the same as the stuff you can buy for $3 or $4 in the store and get 3 times as many per pack? After all, this is a fairly classic American product.

In Japan I had snacked on some mini Oreos, and I couldn't detect anything too different. Then again, sometimes you're taste buds loose their perspective 7,249 miles away. I sent myself some J-Oreos in the mail and decided to try a taste test.

Can you pick out the gigantic, ad-embedded American one? Good for you! Now let's make things harder...

One side is "A" and the other is "B". I took this tin to work and told everyone to try one of each and cast a vote. The cookies look almost identical, but the cookie stamp is just a little different.

All survey answers were written on old card catalog cards and folded into a secure container.

And the results of the "Which one is the Japanese Oreo" Survey are:
B: 8 votes
A: 1 vote

The answer: B.
Some people said there is some odd "tang" or taste that set the Japanese ones apart. To me, it tastes like the Japanese ones are missing something rather than having an odd flavor. In other words, they tasted more like a generic sandwich cookie to me. But it is interesting that there was a decided difference that most people could discern when tasted side-by-side.