The Osaka giants retained their Emperor's Cup title in 2009, however Kurata only featured 4 times throughout the year as he struggled to break into their star-studded starting line-up.

To gain more first-team experience he was sent out on loan, first to J2 League side JEF United in 2010 and then to city rivals Cerezo Osaka in 2011.

He netted an impressive 10 goals in 33 league games with Cerezo and this form was enough to earn him a recall to Gamba's first-team in 2012.

The men from Suita added the 2015 Japanese Super Cup and 2015 Emperor's Cup titles to their haul from the previous year, defeating Urawa Red Diamonds in the final of both competitions, and also reached the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League before going down to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande over two legs.

Gamba failed to lift any silverware between 2016 and 2018, however Kurata remained an integral part of the side, missing just 4 league games across the 3 seasons and scoring 14 times.