She began her career as teen model before making her singing debuting under the helm of Tetsuya Komuro in 1994, who produced Hitomi's earliest work in pop music.
Hitomi has striven for artistry over the course of her career, penning "forward-looking" lyrics and becoming known for her "unusual" fashion sense that accompanied a "supermodel allure".
[4] Hitomi's career enjoyed success from Komuro's direction, including his work on her chart-topping second album By Myself (1996), however, her desire for more artistic input led to their amicable split by 1998.
[5] She started working with other musicians and composers, and branched out into musical genres such as pop rock as evident on her fifth album Love Life (2000), a turning point which sustained her position in the industry.
Hitomi began incorporating electropop styles with her subsequent moves to Love Life Records in 2005 and independent label Maximum 10 in 2011.
Hitomi has amassed four number one albums throughout her career, including H (1999), Huma-rhythm (2002) and Self Portrait (2002), and has sold over 8.5 million records in Japan alone.
Hitomi was an enthusiastic athlete throughout her childhood, playing baseball, soccer, and basketball, as well as an avid reader of manga.
The following year, in November 1994, she released her debut single, "Let's Play Winter", through Avex Trax, to which she wrote the lyrics.
[5] In 1999, her single "Kimi no Tonari" was used as the ending theme song for Atlus' PlayStation role-playing game Persona 2: Tsumi.
In 2000, Hitomi gained much public attention after her single "Love 2000" was used as the image song of runner Naoko Takahashi, who became popular in Japan after winning the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In 2007, Hitomi obtained her first lead role in the movie Akumu Tantei, and also participated in her first musical: Waiting For The Sun: Tenkimachi.
[14] On November 30, 2011, Hitomi released a new mini album entitled Special, in which her songs featured in the NHK educational program Hana Kappa were included.
Hitomi also collaborated with Sfpr, fellow label mates from Maximum 10, in the song "Feeder", which was included in their debut album released on January 1, 2012.
The album had no commercial singles like her previous work, although the Brian Lee-produced song "Up Down" was promoted through a music video via YouTube.
[20] In October 2015, it was announced that Hitomi would participate in a tribute album to globe, for which she recorded a cover of their 1997 single "Anytime Smokin' Cigarette".