This establishment opened in August 2016 near Kyoto Station and quickly became a popular spot for both locals and international visitors. The owners, a young Japanese family who moved to Australia in 2013 for work, started an online store for Japanese home goods there. Their Kyoto business inherited the name of that store: Kurasu (暮らす), which means "to live a life.”

Of course, Kurasu is first and foremost a shop rather than a café, featuring various coffee accessories, magazines, bags, and t-shirts. There are only four modest seats along a small table and a narrow counter by the window, just big enough to hold a standard coffee cup, for those who come specifically for coffee. Initially, Kurasu served Australian Single O beans in their espresso blends and single-origin beans from guest roasters for paper drip coffee, including light roasts from Osaka's Embankment. Later, the owners decided to roast their own coffee, and in February 2018, they opened a roastery café near the Fushimi Inari Shrine (now closed).

This café is notable for its elegant ceramic cups with a rough surface, which enhances the texture of espresso-based drinks with frothed milk. The staff speaks fluent English, and occasionally English-speaking foreigners work here, adding an authentic Australian "hipster café" vibe. Many tourists become regulars at Kurasu, at least for the duration of their stay in Kyoto.