Tom Says: Safe code is boring code!
The Firefox plugin Rikaichan beats every other Japanese dictionary I've ever tried, paper or electronic. I've wanted to use it outside the browser many times before; these cases usually fall into two categories:
For the first case, I use this HTML file, which you can save (File > Save) to your desktop to use offline. It is simply a large text box with a large font (for reading intricate kanji), but since it opens in Firefox, I can paste text there for translation with Rikaichan.
My solution for the second case is rather weak, but effective: I use the handwriting recognition built into the Japanese IME in Windows. See this page for a tutorial.
Posted Jul 17, 2007, in the evening.