My audiobook has had me us “ni,” as to say “Kyoto ni ikimasu,” I will go to Kyoto, whereas my textbook would have me say something like, “watashi wa koen e ikimasu,” I will go to the park, also indicating the topic “watashi wa” (I) at the beginning of the sentence.
I was wondering if it’s necessary to indicate the topic (I) at the beginning of the sentence, and if both “ni,” and “e,” are used as direction particles?
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Generally speaking you do not need to indicate that you are doing the action unless you are trying to emphasize that it is you, and not someone else.
Rule of thumb, the main difference between に and へ is that に indicates “to” and へ indicates “towards.” So if you say へ, it means you’re going in the direction of the park, whereas に is more specifically about making it there.
Pronouns are often skipped in Japanese if they are obvious from the context. Only use them when the context is not clear or some specific emphasis is needed.
‘ni’ and ‘he’ (pronounced ‘e’) can be used interchangeably when indicating destination/direction. There is a subtle distinction but it’s something you’ll get a feel for through use, rather than trying to analyse it consciously. Basically ‘ni’ focuses on the destination, whereas ‘he’ throws focus on both the destination and route (i.e. the direction/path).