Mara

kalihiwai2, Cool book! I'm downloading it now.....thanks!

lcuy

I can't imagine planning a trip without a mix of print and internet research.
For someone who has no idea of what's available and what they want to do, websites can be overwhelming. A good guide book is usually divided into chapters, and has maps that are relevant to that immediate area. You can browse through a book it, and fairly quickly find a lot of ideas. Post-its make skipping back and forth in the book very simple.
Web sites are great in that they can be updated much easier and are easier to access while traveling. They often have lots of photos and current information, as well as links to get further updated info, or to contact places directly. Of course, they can also be very amateurish (tho designed well) or out dated, and unless you have some knowledge of the subject that can sometimes not be obvious. They can also contain a lot of "sponsored" into (ads!) that look like expert opinion.
I tend to pull out my old guidebooks to get ideas, not so much current hours, prices or reviews. I'm guessing that my "Gateway to Japan" is at least 30 years old, but it is still a fabulous research tool, containing history, religion, architecture, etiquette, and other info.

kja

I'm with lcuy on this one -- particularly because the biggest problem with internet research is that you can't google what you don't know to ask! But that information will be in your guidebook.