Waffle maker and Japanese pancakes

With my earlier post on Japanese pancakes, it sets me thinking if I could use a hot-iron waffle maker to make these cute pancakes at home. I am curious - what is the secret of making Japanese pancakes such as Imagawayaki or Dorayaki ? Is it in the batter ingredients? The type of fillings that goes into the pancakes/waffles? How about the waffle maker ? Does the uniformity of temperature control in the waffle maker play a part? That will be part of the know-how. And surely the know-how will include making those pancakes on the spot to ensure freshness. The aroma of pancake or waffle making-in-progress will twinkle the senses of almost anyone.

Looking at the list of waffle makers, I am guessing a waffle maker that can produce more slices (thus a bigger surface area) and a waffle maker with browning control may do the trick. Well...well, no commercial-scale equipment but can't get any closer than this.