When Warlito Caguyong retired from his job in San Francisco and relocated to Kapolei, his wife, Carmen, wanted to celebrate the milestone with a special gift. 

My husband just arrived here last August and I knew he always liked Japanese gardens,” Carmen says. “Every time we bought a house in California he would try to do his own little Japanese garden.” For his present, Carmen wanted to finally give her husband the real deal: an authentic Japanese-style garden.

The couple’s love of garden sculptures brought them to Tropical Garden Accents, in Waimanalo, where they picked up a copy of Hawaii Home + Remodeling. After seeing a photo of a landscape designed by Crane & Sekimizu, they knew they had found the right people for the job.

Water lillies dot the surface of the Caguyong’s new pond. An easy-to-operate UV-filter ensures that the water  stays  clean and clear.

Since 1972, Kiyoharu Sekimizu and wife Terri have worked on stunning Japanese gardens, big and small, in the Islands and on the Mainland. Kiyoharu received his professional training in Japanese garden landscaping in Kyoto, a city famous for its exquisite gardens, he says, and he was one of the first landscapers licensed in Hawaii for the construction of authentic Japanese rock gardens.

The Sekimizus specialize in simple, elegant, low-maintenance landscapes. “A Japanese garden is always easy to maintain,” Terri says, “and they only get better over time.”

Low maintenance was exactly what Carmen and Warlito were looking for. Their previously sparse yard featured a small, problem-ridden waterfall and pond that they found difficult to keep up. “The old pond always leaked, and the fish would die,” Warlito says. “Every time I would turn it on, I would lose half the water—and it was a very small pond.”   

Walkable river stones and moss rocks surround the perimeter  of the lush pond, which also features multiple small waterfalls and a bamboo fountain (shown below).

For their new pond, Kiyoharu chose a large, 1,200-gallon pond with a sizable waterfall. A UV filter keeps the naturally green water clean and extra clear. “The old pond’s murky water had to be drained and then the pond had to be scrubbed twice a month, which was kind of dangerous for old folks like us,” Warlito jokes. Now he or his wife can flip a switch, and in about two minutes the water is clean. The Sekimizus have the same filter in their own pond, and Kiyoharu says he hasn’t had to change the water for five or six years. Another plus, the Caguyongs can now enjoy keeping a few healthy koi fish in their pond.

Around the perimeter of the pond, Crane & Sekimizu added a walking area with river stone and moss rock, as well as a lively mix of Japanese and tropical foliage. There are several bonsai trees, in addition to lemon, banyan, Black Pine and Japanese maple leaf trees. Juniper and pink euphorbia flowers add a bit of color. All of the plants were chosen with easy maintenance in mind and will continue looking beautiful as everything fills in. Inside the pond, water lilies in three colors contribute an even more tranquil look.

“Every night I turn on the lights and the waterfall for about an hour and just sit out on the lanai listening to the running water,” Warlito says. “It’s very relaxing.”

Carmen agrees. “We’re very proud of how good the yard looks. The neighbors are always coming in to look. They come and they invite their families to look,” she says. “Maybe we should start charging!”