Originally Posted by
Row3Acer
... What is Nozomi Shinkansen? I will be getting 7-day Japan Rail Pass, which should allow me to use Shinkansen and all JR lines, no?
Not quite. The Nozomi is the fastest shinkansen and you cannot use the JR Pass for it. If using the JR Pass, you are limited to the (only slightly) slower Hikari and the much slower Kodama.
When I did a quick search, all I found that late were Nozomis direct to Hakata. I did not see the Hikari with connections, so my comment that you are limited to Nozomi is not correct. It would be much faster, with no connections, but as I said, you couldn't use the Pass. In my defense, I was searching for a way to get you to Hakata by 10 pm. Only Nozomi can do that.
I don't think it will be possible to get to your hotel "around 9 or 10 pm." Even if you manage to jet through arrival, get to the JR station to exchange your Rail Pass order and make reservations for the Narita Express and the shinkansen - even with all that, if you can get on the 3:15 pm N'Ex, the earliest connection for a Hikari you can make at Shinagawa is 5:10 pm, arriving at Hakata at 11:32 pm. I don't think you can make that 3:15 N'Ex but the 3:45 would still get you there in time. If you can't make that one, the 4:15 pm N'Ex will get you there in time to take the later 5:40 pm to Hakata with a connection at shin-Osaka but those connections are a little tight. None will get you to Hakata before 11:32 pm.