Photo/Illutration (Photo by Toshiyuki Takeya)

Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.

Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.

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Creepy crawlies that give everyone the jitters are celebrated at the iZoo in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Its "tower of cockroaches," one of the highlights of the facility that is devoted to reptiles, inevitably draws screams from visitors.

It is home to 2,000 or so cockroaches, and the sound of them scrambling around is clearly audible as there is no covering over the tower.

These particular critters originate in the Middle East. But unlike the common black cockroaches that plague Japanese kitchens, they are said to carry a much lower level of household germs.

The tower is made of water-retaining cork that creates ideal humid conditions for the roaches to thrive. Males can fly, but females cannot as they don't have wings.

Yu Mori, a reptile keeper at the zoo, said: "This is a comfortable place for the cockroaches because there is food and humidity. Very few escape."

However, when the video was being taken after the camera was placed under the tower, some cockroaches made a dash for freedom because the display layout was partially changed.

A nearby sign urges visitors to blow on the cockroaches to send them packing.

When 5-year-old Ryoga Konuki of Yokohama let loose with a hearty breath, he sent several cockroaches scampering away.

Ryoga was initially wary about approaching the cockroaches because they gave him the creeps. But once he became accustomed, he wasn't afraid to get his face right up close to the roaches.