She appeared in over 100 movies, appearing in up to ten releases per month. In an incident that shocked the nation, she was murdered at the age of 24. Nozomi enjoyed her new occupation. About her early videos, Nozomi recalled, "I was having so much fun at first that I didn't feel tired at all." Unlike many AV actresses who are happy to have time off, Nozomi became known for actively seeking out new chances to perform. In May of 2002, Nozomi appeared in the third entry of the Forceful Exhibitionistic-Play Maniax video series. In this video, Nozomi and two other AV actresses engage in exhibitionistic acts at a pachinko parlor, a public park, and an office building.

Nozomi's career was still on the rise when her life came to a sudden end while visiting Nagano Prefecture. On October 12, 2002, she was found dead by the Narai River, which runs through Shiojiri. A nearby burned-out car contained the remains of her male companion. Nozomi had been stabbed at least six times, covered with gasoline and set on fire about 10 meters from the car. Nozomi's killer was a company employee in Nagano Prefecture. In what the police called a possible murder-suicide pact, the killer also burned himself to death inside the car. The remains were so badly charred that it took hours of testing before investigators could even determine that the remains belonged to a male. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, "Nozomi seemed to have something Japan's myriad other porno starlets lacked and, at just 24, she was on her way up in the world before her tragic end."