Tokyo's shopping district of Shibuya welcomed the opening of its new Tokyo Metro subway station in June 2008. As well increasing Shibuya's connection to the city's other attractions, including the two fellow shopping precincts of Ikebukuro and Saitama, the subway station stands as an architectural attraction in itself.
Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who won the Pritzker Prize in 1995, the station appears like an egg-shaped chichusen – meaning underground spaceship. Commuters must journey into the spaceship to reach their subway platforms.